Kolkata : Australian stand-in skipper Steven Smith has smashed his 36th Test Century against Sri Lanka, joining elite list and scripting history.
Smith scored mammoth 131 (254), including 10 boundaries and 1 six, bringing Australia in strong position notching 259 runs partnership with another centurion Alex Carey.
With this, Smith is now Australia’s highest Test run scorer in Asia, with 1994* runs, surpassing Ricky Ponting (1889 runs). In this same match, he also broke Ponting’s record of most Test catches by an Australian outfielder (197).
Most runs by an Australian Batter in Asia
1994* – Steve Smith
1889 – Ricky Ponting
1799 – Alan Border
1663 – Matthew Hayden
1580 – Usman Khawaja
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.
Most Test Centuries
Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 51 hundreds
Jacques Kallis (ICC/South Africa) – 45 hundreds
Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 41 hundreds
Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) – 38 hundreds
Steve Smith (Australia) – 36 hundreds
Joe Root (England) – 36 hundreds
Rahul Dravid (India) – 36 hundreds
Younis Khan (Pakistan) – 34 hundreds
Sunil Gavaskar (India) – 34 hundreds
Brian Lara (West Indies) – 34 hundreds
Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) – 34 hundreds
Smith and Root are among the active cricketers in the list, and the duo are followed by their Fab Four rivals – New Zealand’s Kane Williamson (33 hundreds) and India’s Virat Kohli (30 hundreds).
Having reached his 36th Test hundred in 206 innings, Smith surpassed Sangakkara and Tendulkar to become the second fastest to reach the milestone, only behind Ponting.
Fastest to 36 Test Hundreds (in terms of innings played)
Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 200 innings
Steve Smith (Australia) – 206 innings
Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) – 210 innings
Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 218 innings
Jacques Kallis (South Africa) – 239 innings.
The latest century was Smith’s 17th away from home (excluding Tests at neutral venues).
Most Test centuries away from home
Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 29 hundreds
Rahul Dravid (ICC World XI/India) – 21 hundreds
Jacques Kallis (ICC World XI/South Africa) – 20 hundreds
Sunil Gavaskar (India) – 18 hundreds
Alastair Cook (England) – 17 hundreds
Brian Lara (ICC World XI/West Indies) – 17 hundreds
Steven Smith (Australia) – 17 hundreds
Virat Kohli (India) – 16 hundreds
Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 16 hundreds
Steve Waugh (Australia) – 16 hundreds
Younis Khan (Pakistan) – 16 hundreds.
Australia are now in commanding position against Sri Lanka, taking a lead of 140+ runs in reply to Sri Lanka’s 257 in first innings. The Kangaroos are currently leading Test series 1-0 after winning first Test.
