New Delhi: Australian batter Steven Smith notched up his 34th Test hundred on Day 2 of the Boxing Day Test match against India at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday, 27 December. He scored his second consecutive hundred in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Smith needs only 100 more runs to join the elite group of players with 10,000 runs in Test cricket. Only three Australian cricketers Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting have reached that milestone.
11 Test 100s for Steve Smith against India! More than anyone else in history 👏 #AUSvIND | #MilestoneMoment | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/SO8tnwPds4
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 27, 2024
Most Test hundreds against India in Test cricket
This was his 11th Test century against India, most by any batter. The 35-year-old has notched up 11 hundreds and five half-centuries in 23 Test matches against India. England batter Joe Root is second on this list and has scored 10 centuries and 11 fifties in 30 Test matches against India. Akash Deep removed Steve Smith on 140 runs. He smashed 13 boundaries and three maximums during his sensational knock. This was also his fifth Test century at the MCG.
1) Steven Smith – 11
2) Joe Root – 10
3) Ricky Ponting – 8
4) Vivian Richards – 8
Steve Smith also surpassed Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar to score the most Test centuries in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Smith now has 10 hundreds to his name, while Kohli and Tendulkar have nine each.
Australia 474/10 in first innings
The visitors resumed play on the second day of the Boxing Day Test match with their overnight of 311/6 at the MCG. Smith and skipper Pat Cummins forged a 112-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Cummins on 49 but Smith and Starc stitched another 44-run partnership for the eighth wicket.
Jadeja picked up his third wicket of the match and removed Starc on 15 runs after lunch while Akash Deep also dismissed Steve Smith on 140 runs. Bumrah removed Lyon on 13 runs as Australia bowled out for 474 runs.
Earlier, Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja stitched an 89-run partnership for the opening wicket on Day 1. Jadeja removed Konstas on 60 runs but Khawaja batted brilliantly and scored his half-century. Bumrah removed him on 57 runs but Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne built an 83-run partnership for the third wicket.
Team India made a comeback in the match as Sundar and Bumrah took crucial wickets in the last session. Sundar removed in-form Labuschagne on 72 runs while Bumrah also picked up the wickets of Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh. Akash Deep also removed Alex Carey on 31 runs on Day 1.
Steven Smith notched up his 34th Test century on Day 2 of the Boxing Day Test match against India at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday, 27 December. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
