Jackson Barrett: Steve Smith’s eyes are Australia’s lingering concern after a famous Adelaide victory

Life moves pretty fast sometimes. Two weeks after a disastrous Perth loss where everything that could go wrong did, Australia have cleaned up India in Adelaide. Almost everything that needed to go right did. Nathan McSweeney showed he has the grit and the temperament to at least make a fist of his unenviable task at the top of the order this summer. Marnus Labuschagne was with him for the hard yards in the twilight on day two and was rewarded with a flat ball and daylight on Saturday. Make hay while the sun shines. Travis Head continued his love affair with his home ground and found his own spark. Scott Boland had an immediate say in the series and, best of all, the quicks — including all-rounder Mitch Marsh and his injury cloud — will get an extra two-and-a-half days to put their feet up after bowling only 81 overs. Fears they had allowed Virat Kohli to storm into form may have been premature and young gun Yashasvi Jaiswal struggled in his first pink-ball working over. Australia’s lingering question mark now surrounds their two oldest players, Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja. Smith made two and was out feathering a ball he didn’t need to play down the leg side. He hardly looked comfortable, despite batting in the best of the conditions. The former skipper played a neat half-hour in the second innings at Optus Stadium once the match was out of reach and we were told he had “found his hands” before the series. The way Smith navigated the peak of his career, with dancing feet and magical wrists, his eyes were always going to be the biggest issue As is the way, question marks will now fall back on India. Rohit Sharma failed twice in his return. How long will they persist with him in the middle order? Harshit Rana also struggled after impressing in Perth and Ravichandran Ashwin bowled some decent sets on Saturday in a match where spin was barely required, but so did Washington Sundar in Perth. This could now be a series won at the selection table. Australia are always more likely to stick fat with their players than flinch and make changes, but pulling the trigger early on players could be India’s way to keep things fresh. The Aussies can hardly afford to part with Khawaja before the series is out because of the slim pickings behind them, while India are going to have more to play with. Sharma is no longer an immovable force in their batting order and Harshit Rana certainly isn’t a must-pick bowling option. Mohammed Shami is believed to be waiting in the wings, as is Ravindra Jadeja. Like they did when they won here three years ago, it’s about getting the right players in the right positions and in form at the right time.