Australia vs Sri Lanka: Steve Smith reaches 10,000 Test runs after a month of waiting on 9,999

Australia's star batter Steve Smith etched his name into cricketing history on Wednesday as he became only the 15th player to reach the coveted 10,000-run mark in Test cricket.

Smith achieved the milestone during the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, joining an exclusive club of players like Ricky Ponting, Sachin Tendulkar among others, to have accomplished the feat in the longest format of the game.

Starting the match on 9,999 runs, Smith wasted no time in reaching the landmark. On his very first ball, he nudged a delivery from Sri Lankan spinner Prabath Jayasuriya for a single, bringing up the milestone in typically composed fashion.


With this, he became only the fourth Australian batter to reach 10,000 Test runs, following in the footsteps of legends Ricky Ponting, Allan Border, and Steve Waugh.

Smith boasts an impressive batting average of over 55 from 114 Test matches, including 34 centuries since his debut in 2010.

Steve Smith is currently leading Australia in a two-match Test series, stepping in for regular captain Pat Cummins, who is absent due to the birth of his second child.

Initially starting his career as a leg-spinner batting at number eight, he has since ascended to become the top Test batsman and captain of the Australian team.

Widely regarded as a modern-day great, Smith is part of an elite group of contemporary batsmen that includes India's Virat Kohli, New Zealand's Kane Williamson, and England's Joe Root.

Australia vs Sri Lanka Teams:

Australia (Playing XI): Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven 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.