<p>Former Australia skipper Steve Smith dismissed talk of a form slump but credited a more positive attitude after his battling century against India in Sydney Friday.</p>.<p>The 31-year-old reached three figures in a Test for the first time since 2019, smacking 131 for his 27th ton to help steer Australia to a first innings 338.</p>.<p>He bounced back after failing to reach double figures in the opening two Tests, which sparked a flurry of concern about his form among pundits and the media.</p>.<p>But Smith said he was never worried, pointing out that he hit pulsating back-to-back centuries in the limited-overs series against India late last year.</p>.<p>"I read a lot of things and plenty of people said I was out of form so it was nice to come back into form, if that's what you want to call it," he said.</p>.<p>"I mean, it was only about three or four weeks ago that I scored two hundreds at the Sydney Cricket Ground. So yeah, it kind of just makes me laugh sometimes when people say that kind of thing.</p>.<p>"I missed out in the first two Tests obviously and came back today and scored some runs and helped I guess put us in a decent position."</p>.<p>Smith struggled against the spin of Ravi Ashwin in Adelaide and Melbourne and admitted he made some adjustments to his game, which helped him build his near-flawless score.</p>.<p>He was faster on his feet and came down the wicket more, but he said it was a change in attitude that made the biggest difference.</p>.<p>"I decided to be a bit more positive. I think early on I hit him (Ashwin) over his head, sort of just put a bit of pressure on him," he said.</p>.<p>"So, yeah, it was a concerted effort to do that and I was happy with the way I played him."</p>.<p>Smith, who averages more than 60, faced 226 balls and hit 16 boundaries in his patient knock, surviving only an ambitious lbw review on 41.</p>.<p>His first century in Australia for more than three years, including a one-year ban for ball-tampering, was all the sweeter for the fact that it came in Sydney.</p>.<p>"It's always special, I love playing here at the SCG, it's a great place to bat," he said.</p>.<p>"It's my home ground and my mum and dad were here, so they were able to see that.</p>.<p>"I'm just proud to get three figures on the board and spend some time out in the middle and help us post a decent score."</p>
<p>Former Australia skipper Steve Smith dismissed talk of a form slump but credited a more positive attitude after his battling century against India in Sydney Friday.</p>.<p>The 31-year-old reached three figures in a Test for the first time since 2019, smacking 131 for his 27th ton to help steer Australia to a first innings 338.</p>.<p>He bounced back after failing to reach double figures in the opening two Tests, which sparked a flurry of concern about his form among pundits and the media.</p>.<p>But Smith said he was never worried, pointing out that he hit pulsating back-to-back centuries in the limited-overs series against India late last year.</p>.<p>"I read a lot of things and plenty of people said I was out of form so it was nice to come back into form, if that's what you want to call it," he said.</p>.<p>"I mean, it was only about three or four weeks ago that I scored two hundreds at the Sydney Cricket Ground. So yeah, it kind of just makes me laugh sometimes when people say that kind of thing.</p>.<p>"I missed out in the first two Tests obviously and came back today and scored some runs and helped I guess put us in a decent position."</p>.<p>Smith struggled against the spin of Ravi Ashwin in Adelaide and Melbourne and admitted he made some adjustments to his game, which helped him build his near-flawless score.</p>.<p>He was faster on his feet and came down the wicket more, but he said it was a change in attitude that made the biggest difference.</p>.<p>"I decided to be a bit more positive. I think early on I hit him (Ashwin) over his head, sort of just put a bit of pressure on him," he said.</p>.<p>"So, yeah, it was a concerted effort to do that and I was happy with the way I played him."</p>.<p>Smith, who averages more than 60, faced 226 balls and hit 16 boundaries in his patient knock, surviving only an ambitious lbw review on 41.</p>.<p>His first century in Australia for more than three years, including a one-year ban for ball-tampering, was all the sweeter for the fact that it came in Sydney.</p>.<p>"It's always special, I love playing here at the SCG, it's a great place to bat," he said.</p>.<p>"It's my home ground and my mum and dad were here, so they were able to see that.</p>.<p>"I'm just proud to get three figures on the board and spend some time out in the middle and help us post a decent score."</p>