IND vs AUS: Steve Smith Makes History With 34th Test Century In Boxing Day Clash

By Unnati Madan On Dec 27, 2024

Australian star Steve Smith continued his strong return to form by scoring a record-breaking century against India in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). This century added to his strong connection with the venue and the World Test Championship 2023 runners-up.

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Steve Smith Shines with Record-Breaking Century at MCG

It has to be noted that before the ongoing series, Steve Smith was under a lot of pressure because of his poor form and over a year without a century. However, he found some relief with a century in the third Test in Brisbane, where he played through some tough moments to reach the milestone.

Smith had been under pressure before the series due to his poor form and over a year without a century. However, he found some relief with a century in the third Test in Brisbane, where he played through some tough moments to reach the milestone.

However, as the saying goes, “cometh the hour, cometh the man.” In a crucial MCG Test, Smith maintained his strong Boxing Day Test record, scoring a dominant 140 off 197 balls, with 13 fours and three sixes, finishing the first session of day two on a high note.

With this century, Smith now has 11 centuries in 43 innings against India, surpassing England’s Joe Root, who has 10 centuries in 55 innings against India. In 23 Tests against India, Smith has scored 2,305 runs at an average of 64.02, including 11 centuries and five fifties. His highest score is 192.

Now, Smith has climbed to joint-sixth on the list of century makers in Tests, sharing the spot with Younis Khan (Pakistan), Sunil Gavaskar (India), Brian Lara (West Indies), and Mahela Jayawardena (Sri Lanka).

Australia won the toss and chose to bat first. Half-centuries from Konstas (60 off 65 balls, with six fours and two sixes), Usman Khawaja (57 off 121 balls, with six fours), Marnus Labuschagne (72 off 145 balls, with seven fours), and Steve Smith (68*) supported the decision, helping Australia reach 311/6 at the end of day one, despite India taking some quick wickets.

On day two, Smith brought up his century and shared a 112-run partnership with captain Pat Cummins (49 off 63 balls, with seven fours), allowing Australia to finish the first session at 454/7.

Smith Reflects on His Return to Form and Key Moments in the Match

Speaking about his return to runs, Steve Smith told the media on Friday: “You got to trust what you are trying to do. I have played the game long enough to know that you can have ups and downs. There’s a difference between being out of form and out of runs. You need a lot of luck on these wickets to get big runs and last week (at the Gabba) I had my fair share.”

Talking about the ongoing fourth Test match between India and Australia, the former Australian captain said: “It was obviously a really good partnership (between Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal) and to break that one, and then get the two more wickets, it was a huge last hour for us. Looked like Jaiswal called yes, ran, and Virat sent him back.”

Further, Steve Smith also praised his captain, Pat Cummins: “I thought Patty played really nicely. Positive intent. We were able to get a nice partnership together and take a bit of the momentum of the game from that point.”

The batter also felt that Kohli looked set for a big knock: “He is a class player. Obviously, he played well in Perth for that 100. And he looked good today, I thought. It was probably the first ball I think he actually played on that fifth, sixth stump line (when he got out). He was really disciplined and I thought we were in for a bit of a masterclass.”

As for Sam Konstas, Smith exclaimed, “He was reverse ramping (Jasprit) Bumrah and I was having a heart attack up in the box!”

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