After reaching the landmark of 10,000 runs in the first ball of his knock, Steve Smith went on to smash a century as Australia scored 330/2 on the opening day.
Steve Smith completed a milestone day in Galle on Wednesday in the opening Test match of the series against Sri Lanka. After reaching the landmark of 10,000 runs in the first ball of his knock, making him the 15th batter in Test history to the feat, Smith went on to smash a century as Australia racked up 330 for two on the opening day.
Australia’s captain Steve Smith (R) celebrates after scoring a century (100 runs) during the first day of the first Test cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia at the Galle International Cricket Stadium in Galle(AFP)
Smith, who is leading the visiting side in Pat Cummins’ stead, combined with opener Usman Khawaja in an unbeaten 195-run partnership for the third wicket as Australia punished a sloppy Sri Lankan side, who floored catches, missed a run-out chance, and bungled reviews.
En route to the stand, both batters scored their respective centuries. For Smith, it was the 35th in his career, which saw him go past India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar (34) in the all-time list, along with Younis Khan, Mahela Jayawardene and Brian Lara.
Having reached the milestone in his 205th innings, the Aussie batter became the third fastest to the milestone, after India legend Sachin Tendulkar (200 innings) and former Australia captain Ricky Ponting (194). However, 35 centuries is the joint second-most tons scored by a batter after 205 Test innings. Smith matched Sachin’s feat, with only Ponting, with 36 tons, still at the top.
Australia in command after Day 1
The two centuries put Australia in the driver’s seat at the end of Day 1 in Galle. Earlier, Travis Head celebrated his promotion in the batting order with a typically belligerent 57 following Smith’s decision to bat first. Having replaced Sam Konstas as as Khawaja’s opening partner, Head hit Asitha Fernando, the lone seamer in Sri Lanka’s spin-heavy attack, for three fours in the very first over of the day.
He notched up his fifty in just 35 balls in the second session before falling victim to left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya. Marnus Labuschagne added 20 more runs to the board before falling to leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay. Smith and Khawaja then dominated Sri Lanka.
Australia, who have already qualified for the World Test Championship final against South Africa in June, have rested several frontline players.
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