Galle, Jan 30: After starting his innings with a milestone single that took him to 10,000 Test runs, Steve Smith registered his 35th Test century for Australia on day 1 of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Wednesday.Walking in at number four, Smith cruised to a breezy century after putting on a hefty partnership with opener Usman Khawaja. Smith’s 35th Test century in only his 205th innings put him third on the all-time charts, only behind Ricky Ponting (195) and Sachin Tendulkar (200) in terms of innings.
Overall, Smith is only the seventh Test batter to reach 35 Test centuries after Tendulkar (51), Jacques Kallis (45), Ponting (41), Kumar Sangakkara (38), Rahul Dravid (36) and Joe Root (36).
On a surface expected to favor the spinners, Australia’s batters countered with positive intent, regularly finding the boundary and forcing Sri Lanka to spread the field. Head, in particular, was in a punishing mood, reaching his half-century in just 35 balls, leaving Sri Lanka scrambling for answers.
Khawaja, in contrast, adopted a more measured approach, playing with patience while rotating the strike. The duo stitched together a commanding 92-run opening stand before Head fell for 57, caught at long-on off Prabath Jayasuriya.
Sri Lanka struck again when Marnus Labuschagne departed for 20, courtesy of a sharp catch at slip by Dhananjaya de Silva, handing leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay his first wicket of the match.
Smith is captaining the Australian side in the absence of Pat Cummins, who is on paternity leave. Australia recently won a five-test series against India in Australia which qualified it for the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s in June.