Follow UsAfter months of struggle, Steve Smith’s batting seems to be back at its pristine best, with a sublime Test ton against Sri Lanka in the second Test at Galle on February 7. The Australian skipper has now scored tons in back-to-back Tests in Sri Lanka, etching his name in the history books, the most for any Australian batter in the country (4).
Smith walked in at 37/2, a precarious position for the visitors who had comfortably won the first Test. But over the next two sessions, the right-hander showed complete control, with a batting masterclass, using his feet extremely well against the spinners. While Smith absorbed the pressure, it was on Alex Carey to score the counter-attacking ton from the other end.
It was Smith’s seventh ton in Asian conditions, a new all-time high for an Australian batter, bettering Allan Border’s record of six tons.
Steve Smith - 7*
Allan Border - 6
Usman Khawaja - 5
Ricky Ponting - 5
Not just that, it was also Smith’s 36th Test ton, becoming the second-fastest to 36 Test tons, bettering both Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara (210) and India’s Sachin Tendulkar (218) with just 206 innings.
Ricky Ponting - 200 innings
Steve Smith - 206*
Kumar Sangakkara - 210
Sachin Tendulkar - 218
At the time of writing, Australia have already attained a 24-run lead against Sri Lanka in the second Test after comfortably winning the first Test in Galle by an innings.