Smith has 11 centuries to his name in 23 Tests played so far against India, whereas Root has hammered 10 centuries in 30 Test matches.
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Star Australian batter Steve Smith created history on Friday (December 27) by becoming the first batter in the world to score 11 Test centuries against India. Smith, who is Australia’s fourth-leading run-scorer in Test cricket, crossed the triple-digit mark during the morning session of the second day’s play of the ongoing 4th Test between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Smith broke former England captain and star batter Joe Root’s record of 10 centuries vs. India by scoring his second century of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In the first innings of the third Test as well, which was played from December 14 to 18 at The Gabba in Brisbane, Smith scored a century.
Smith, who is playing his 23rd Test match against India in Melbourne these days, has 11 centuries and five fifties to his name. Root is in 2nd place with 10 centuries and 10 fifties in 30 matches, and they are followed by Australia’s Ricky Ponting, West Indies’ Garry Sobers, and Viv Richards, who finished their Test careers with 8 centuries each against India.
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Most Test centuries vs India
- Steve Smith (Australia) – 11
- Joe Root (England) – 10
- Garry Sobers (West Indies) – 8
- Viv Richards (West Indies) – 8
- Ricky Ponting (West Indies) – 8
By scoring a century on Friday, Smith also broke Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar’s record of scoring the most triple-digit scores in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Smith, who is playing his 22nd Border-Gavaskar Trophy match in Melbourne, has 10 centuries to his name, whereas Kohli and Tendulkar have slammed nine centuries each in 28 and 34 matches, respectively.
Most 100s in Border-Gavaskar Trophy
- Steve Smith (Australia) – 10
- Virat Kohli (India) – 9
- Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 9
- Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 8
- Michael Clarke (Australia) – 7
If Smith, who is Australia’s second-leading run scorer in the ongoing series, manages to score 191 runs in the match, then he will complete 10,000 runs in Test cricket. As of now, only Ricky Ponting, Allan Border, and Steve Waugh have scored more than 10,000 runs in the five-day format of the game for the Baggy Greens.
If Smith manages to cross the 10,000 Test run mark in the ongoing match, then he will also become the second fastest batter in the world after Brian Lara to achieve the feat in terms of matches. Lara crossed the 10,000-run mark in his 111th match for the West Indies, whereas the ongoing Boxing Day Test is Smith’s 113th Test for the Australian men’s cricket team.
