Australian batting stalwart Steve Smith registered his thirty sixth Take a look at century on day 2 of the second Take a look at in opposition to Sri Lanka on the Galle Worldwide Stadium on Friday. With this century, Smith has now equalled the legendary Rahul Dravid and England’s Joe Root within the listing of most Take a look at centuries, making him the joint-fifth highest century-maker in Take a look at historical past. Smith, main Australia within the absence of Pat Cummins, performed a captain’s knock, anchoring the innings after the guests suffered early blows. Strolling in at 37/2, following the dismissals of Travis Head (21) and Marnus Labuschagne (4), Smith confronted rapid strain however remained unfazed. He survived an in depth lbw attraction on the primary ball, because the Sri Lankan evaluation revealed the ball was lacking the stumps.
As soon as he acquired off the mark on his sixth supply, Smith shortly discovered his rhythm, dispatching Parabath Jayasuriya for a boundary via mid-wicket. He went into lunch on 23 and constructed a vital 54-run stand with Usman Khawaja (36) earlier than the latter fell proper initially of the second session to Nishan Peris.
Undeterred, Smith discovered an ready accomplice in Alex Carey, and collectively, they placed on a large century partnership, irritating the Sri Lankan bowlers and propelling Australia right into a commanding place.
Smith introduced up his fifty off 98 balls, executing a sweep shot with sheer precision. After reaching his half-century, he regarded in full management, discovering boundaries at will via cowl drives and rotating the strike successfully. Regardless of a number of nervous moments – an edge falling in need of the slips and the ball narrowly lacking the stumps – Smith remained composed.
His milestone second got here when he pulled Kamindu Mendis for a boundary, mentioning one more Take a look at century in his illustrious profession. This was his second consecutive century within the sequence, following his magnificent 141 within the first Take a look at.
Smith additionally surpassed former Australia cricketer Ricky Ponting to develop into Australia’s highest Take a look at run-scorer within the Asian subcontinent throughout
This milestone got here only a day after Smith broke Ponting’s file for essentially the most Take a look at catches by an Australian outfielder (197). Heading into the match, Smith wanted 27 runs to overhaul Ponting’s tally of 1,889 Take a look at runs in Asia, and he achieved the landmark shortly after lunch, taking a single off Sri Lankan spinner Nishan Peiris.
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