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Smith, leading Australia in the absence of Pat Cummins, played a captain’s knock, anchoring the innings after the visitors suffered early blows.
Steve Smith celebrating his century (X)
Interim AUS skipper Steve Smith smashed his 36th Test century during the second Test against Sri Lanka on Friday and rewrote history to become Australia’s highest Test run scorer in Asia.
Smith required 27 runs to overtake Ponting’s tally of 1,889 runs in Asia, and he accomplished the feat 15 minutes after lunch, picking a single off Sri Lankan spinner Nishan Peiris.
Over 48 innings, Ponting amassed 1,889 runs at an average of 41.97. Nevertheless, Smith, who had an outstanding average of 51.08 in Asia, achieved the milestone in just his 42nd innings.
Smith previously acknowledged that he had been preoccupied with hitting 10,000 career Test runs, a feat he had already accomplished in the opening Test match against Sri Lanka, and that he had been reluctant to focus too much emphasis on milestones.
Among active players, Smith now ranks second behind Joe Root, who has 12,972 Test runs.
With this century, Smith has also now equalled the legendary Rahul Dravid and England’s Joe Root in the list of most Test centuries, making him the joint-fifth highest century-maker in Test history.
A day before he also broke Ponting’s record for the most Test catches by an Australian outfielder (197).
Smith, leading Australia in the absence of Pat Cummins, played a captain’s knock, anchoring the innings after the visitors suffered early blows.
Smith brought up his fifty off 98 balls, executing a sweep shot with sheer precision. After reaching his half-century, he looked in complete control, finding boundaries at will through cover drives and rotating the strike effectively.
His milestone moment came when he pulled Kamindu Mendis for a boundary, bringing up yet another Test century in his illustrious career. This was his second consecutive century in the series, following his magnificent 141 in the first Test.
With an average above 50 in Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan, Smith’s consistency has made him one of Australia’s finest batters in challenging overseas conditions.
