Mumbai, January 29: Veteran batter Steve Smith completed his 10,000 Test run with his first scoring shot on day 1 of the first Test against Sri Lanka here at Galle International Stadium on Wednesday. The stand-in skipper became the fourth Australian man to reach a rare milestone and the overall 15th man to achieve the feat. The 35-year-old joined Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting as Australians to get to 10,000 Test runs. Interestingly, all three were captains of the Test team when they made their 10,000th run. SL vs AUS 1st Test 2025: Steve Smith Scores His 10,000th Test Run, Australia Is 145–2 at Lunch on First Day Against Sri Lanka.

Flicking left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya for a single to mid-on in his 205th innings, the fifth fastest batter by innings to reach 10,000 Test runs. In terms of matches, only Brian Lara (111) has gotten to the milestone in fewer Tests than Smith's 115. Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara (all took 195 Test innings) and Ricky Ponting (196) are the only batters to have reached it in fewer innings.

Among Aussies, only former captain Ricky Ponting has crossed the milestone quicker in only 196 innings. Smith has compiled his runs at an average of over 55, with Kumar Sangakkara the only batter beyond the 10,000 figure with a better return (57.40). Among active players, only Joe Root's tally of 12,972 Test runs is higher than Smith's. Usman Khawaja Regains Form After Poor BGT 2024-25! Opener Registers 16th Hundred During SL vs AUS 1st Test 2025.

Having missed his fairytale moment in front of his home crowd at the SCG against India when he was dismissed with his career tally on 9,999 runs, Smith scored his 10,000th run on the first ball he faced on Wednesday. The right-hander came to bat at 137/2 in the opening session and hit a single to mid-on off Prabath Jayasuriya, earning applause from the crowd, before sharing a hug with his batting partner, Usman Khawaja.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 29, 2025 02:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).