Steve Smith relishes ‘proud moment’ of scoring 27th Test hundred in front of his parents
Australia batsman Steve Smith was elated to score his 27th Test hundred in front of his parents at his home ground, the SCG. Steve Smith made an impressive 131 on Day 2 of the Sydney Test against India on Friday.
Speaking after the end of the day's play, the Australian middle-order batsman said that it is always special to play at the SCG. He was quoted as saying in this regard:
"I love playing here at the SCG. It is a great place to bat, my home ground. My mom and dad were here and able to see that. Proud to get the three figures on the board and spend some time out in the middle.”
Steve Smith had a tough time going into the Sydney Test, having managed only ten runs in four innings in the series. There were question marks raised about his struggles against Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who had dismissed Steve Smith twice in the series cheaply.
Reacting sharply to critics, Steve Smith hit back:
"It was about two-three weeks ago, I think, I scored two hundreds at the SCG. It sometimes makes me laugh at people. Missed out on first two matches obviously and came back today and scored some runs to put us in a decent position.”
Although Australia were bowled out for 338 in their first innings, Steve Smith feels it’s a decent total. India went to stumps at 96 for 2, and Smith is hopeful the bowlers will put greater pressure on India on Day 3, saying in this regard:
"It would have been nice to score a few more runs. I think it is an up and down in the wicket as we have seen. The boys bowled pretty well this evening, and if we continue to bowl with real discipline tomorrow, we gonna get some opportunities. Could have been three or four the way they bowled. Hopefully, we can start well in the morning and build some pressure.”
Steve Smith broke a plethora of records during his 27th Test hundred
Steve Smith equalled or broke a plethora of records during his innings of 131 on Day 2 at the SCG. With his 27th Test hundred, he joined Virat Kohli on the list of batsmen with most Test hundreds among active players.
The century also made Steve Smith the second quickest batsman to reach 27 Test hundreds. The former Australian captain got to the mark in 136 innings. In the process, he arrived at the milestone quicker than Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar, who needed 141 innings to achieve the feat.
However, Sir Don Bradman holds the record for being the quickest to 27 Test hundreds, taking only 70 innings.
During the course of his innings, Steve Smith also went past Kohli's run tally of 7,318 Test runs. The former Australian captain now has 7,368 Test runs to his name.
Moreover, with his eighth Test ton against the visitors, Steve Smith joined the trio of Sir Gary Sobers, Sir Viv Richards and Ricky Ponting as the batsmen with the most Test centuries against India.
Among the quartet, Smith is the quickest to eight Test hundreds against India, reaching the landmark in only 25 innings. Gary Sobers got there in 30, Viv Richards took 41, and Ricky Ponting needed 51.