Steve Smith says he never doubted his ability, as he continued his return to form with another century against India in Melbourne.

Smith went 26 Test innings without a ton but backed up his century in Brisbane with a fine 140 as Australia turned the screw against India.

The hosts finished on 474 in their first innings and then reduced India to 164-5 before the end of play.

Asked about his revival as a batsman, Smith told the media: "You got to trust what you are trying to do.

"I have played the game long enough to know that you can have ups and downs. There's a difference between being out of form and out of runs.

"You need a lot of luck on these wickets to get big runs and last week [at the Gabba] I had my fair share."

Smith now has 11 centuries against India, one more than Root, and the most of any test batsman in history.

The 35-year-old also scored his 34th test century, which moves him up to seventh in the all-time standings – two behind Root and Rahul Dravid.

India were well set with Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal at the crease, but a costly runout saw Jaiswal dismissed for 82 before Kohli was nicked behind off the bowling of Scott Boland for 36.

Smith believes the crucial wickets of both have helped to swing the match in Australia's favour.

He said: "It was obviously a really good partnership [between Kohli and Jaiswal] and to break that one, and then get the two more wickets, it was a huge last hour for us."

The ex-Australian captain praised Kohli for his innings and thought he was set for a huge score.

He said: "He is a class player. Obviously, he played well in Perth for that 100. And he looked good today, I thought.

"He was really disciplined and I thought we were in for a bit of a masterclass."

Smith shared a partnership with Pat Cummins before he was dismissed for 49, and he praised his skipper for how well he performed with the bat.

"I thought Patty played really nicely," Smith added.

"Positive intent. We were able to get a nice partnership together and take a bit of the momentum of the game from that point."