Steve Smith becomes part of elite list after 10,000 Test runs

GALLE: Australia's stand-in skipper Steve Smith etched his name in cricket history on Wednesday by becoming the fifth fastest batter to reach 10,000 runs in Test cricket during the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka.

Smith's remarkable achievement makes him the 15th player ever to surpass the coveted 10,000-run milestone in the longest format of the game, according to the ICC’s official website.

After missing the chance to reach the landmark in his hometown of Sydney during the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, the top order batter achieved the feat, playing his signature flick toward mid-on before sprinting for a single. 

Raising his bat in acknowledgement of the crowd's applause, Smith was met with an ovation from the Australian camp.

The 35-year-old accumulated his runs at an average of over 55, with only Kumar Sangakkara having a better return among players with over 10,000 Test runs (57.40).

The right-handed batter now ranks as the fifth fastest batter to reach the 10,000 Test runs milestone by innings, behind Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara and Ricky Ponting.

Fastest to 10,000 Test Runs:

• Brian Lara (West Indies) – 195 innings
• Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 195 innings
• Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) – 195 innings
• Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 196 innings
• Steve Smith (Australia) – 205 innings
• Rahul Dravid (India) – 206 innings

He also joins Australian greats Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting as the fourth Australian to achieve this milestone.

Most Runs for Australia in Tests:

• Ricky Ponting – 13,378 runs in 287 innings
• Allan Border – 11,174 runs in 265 innings
• Steve Waugh – 10,927 runs in 260 innings
• Steve Smith – 10,050* runs in 205 innings

Earlier in the day, Smith won the toss and elected to bat first. 

The Baggy Greens also named wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis for his debut in Test cricket, as the team went with three spinners and one seamer for this match.

Australia (Playing XI): Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Josh Inglis, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy.

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Dimuth Karunaratne, Oshada Fernando, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kusal Mendis (wk), Prabath Jayasuriya, Nishan Peiris, Jeffrey Vandersay, Asitha Fernando.