Galle, Feb 7: Australian batting maestro Steve Smith etched his name deeper into cricket history by scoring his 36th Test century on Day 2 of the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium. With this remarkable feat, Smith has now matched the legendary Rahul Dravid and England’s Joe Root, becoming the joint-fifth highest century-maker in Test history.
Leading Australia in Pat Cummins’ absence, Smith delivered a captain’s knock just when his team needed it most. Australia was in early trouble at 37/2 after Travis Head (21) and Marnus Labuschagne (4) departed quickly. Walking in under pressure, Smith remained composed, even surviving a close lbw scare on his first ball, with a Sri Lankan review revealing the ball was missing the stumps.
Once off the mark on his sixth delivery, Smith quickly found his groove, flicking Prabath Jayasuriya to the mid-wicket boundary. He went into lunch on 23, having built a steady 54-run partnership with Usman Khawaja (36), who fell immediately after the break to Nishan Peiris.
Unfazed, Smith then combined with Alex Carey to construct a game-changing century partnership, frustrating Sri Lanka’s bowlers and pushing Australia into a commanding position. He reached his half-century off 98 balls with a well-executed sweep shot and continued to dominate with fluent cover drives and smart strike rotation. Though he had a few nervous moments—an edge falling short of slip and a ball narrowly missing the stumps—his composure never wavered.
Smith brought up his century in style, pulling Kamindu Mendis for a boundary—his second consecutive hundred in the series after his brilliant 141 in the first Test.
Adding to his accolades, Smith also surpassed Ricky Ponting to become Australia’s highest Test run-scorer in the Asian subcontinent. This milestone came just a day after he overtook Ponting’s record for the most Test catches (197) by an Australian outfielder. Heading into the match, Smith needed 27 runs to break Ponting’s tally of 1,889 Test runs in Asia, a landmark he reached shortly after lunch with a single off Nishan Peiris.
With another historic achievement to his name, Smith continues to cement his legacy as one of the modern greats of Test cricket.
