[WATCH]- Steve Smith Joins Elite Club With 36th Test Century In SL vs AUS 2nd Test 2025

Veteran Australian batter Steve Smith reached his 36th Test century on Day 2 of the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium. In doing so, the right-hander equaled Joe Root and Rahul Dravid for the most centuries in the format, with Dravid having retired with 36 Test hundreds.

The milestone came in the 63rd over when Dhananjaya de Silva handed the ball to Kamindu Mendis for his second over. Mendis bowled a short delivery, which Smith confidently pulled to the boundary. To mark the achievement, he kissed his Baggy Green cap while his teammates applauded from the dressing room.

You can watch the video here:

It's Steve Smith Test century number 36!

His fourth in the last five Tests too 🔥#SLvAUS pic.twitter.com/vxfS1ShMFK

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) February 7, 2025

Steve Smith is now the second-fastest batter to register 36 Test centuries, achieving the feat in just 206 innings, with only Ricky Ponting reaching the milestone quicker in 200 innings. With this being his 17th Test hundred as captain, Smith is now just six centuries away from surpassing Ponting’s record for the most Test tons by an Australian.

This century also marks Smith’s fourth in his last five matches, highlighting his resurgence in form since his ton in the third Test against India in Brisbane.

Steve Smith and Alex Carey Tons Put Australia Ahead in Galle

The visitors wrapped up Sri Lanka’s innings for 257 after the hosts resumed Day 2 at 229/9. Sri Lanka struck early, as Nishan Peiris and Prabath Jayasuriya dismissed Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne cheaply. Peiris then trapped Usman Khawaja lbw after lunch, breaking his stand with Steve Smith.

With Josh Inglis sidelined due to a back injury, the team management promoted Alex Carey in the batting order, and the wicketkeeper-batter capitalized on the opportunity by reaching his second Test century in just 118 deliveries.

Despite winning the toss, the hosts couldn’t fully exploit the favourable batting conditions. Only Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Mendis managed to cross the half-century mark. Meanwhile, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, and Matthew Kuhnemann took three wickets each, restricting Sri Lanka to 257 in 97.4 overs.

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