Brisbane: Australia's batting stalwart Steve Smith surpassed New Zealand batter Kane Williamson's tally of most Test hundreds as he smashed his 33rd century in Test cricket against India at The Gabba here on Sunday, December 15, 2024.
With this century, Smith now has the second most Test hundreds among the 'Fab Four' which also features England's Joe Root, New Zealand's Kane Williamson, and India's Virat Kohli. Smith is only behind Root, who is leading the list with 36 tons. Williamson is now third with 32 hundreds and Kohli is last with 30.
Steve Smith brings up his 33rd Test hundred, his first since June 2023 💥#WTC25 | #AUSvIND 📝: https://t.co/HNXkCP4P9D pic.twitter.com/EHeYjrx5du
— ICC (@ICC) December 15, 2024
Smith also became the Australian with the second most centuries for Australia after former skipper Ricky Ponting. Smith now has 33 Test hundreds while Ponting has 41 Test tons under his belt.
An amazing moment for Steve Smith as he brings up his 33rd Test hundred! #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/qv5LBYktZb
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 15, 2024
Smith, who took plenty of time early on in the innings, started to take on Indian bowlers and didn't hesitate to play his shot. He completed his half-century in 128 balls and took only 57 balls to get to the 100-run mark. Only twice has he raced off from 50 to 100 quicker, the last of which came in July 2015.
Steve Smith is now equalling the number of hundreds with England great and former captain Alastair Cook, with the former (53.50) having a better average than the latter (46.95). Apart from this, he is 11th in the list of players with most Test hundreds.
In the WTC final 2023, Smith & Head put together 285 coming together at 76/3 - the last 200+ partnership for any wicket for any team against India. Today so far they have added 201* coming together at 75/3.
Coming to the match front, Australia were reeling at 76/3 at one stage, but then Travis Head and Smith recorded a 200+ run stand for the fourth wicket and brought the hosts out of trouble. While the first session was arguably shared by both sides, the second completely belonged to Australia, courtesy of Head's blistering century.
Smith and Head continued with their crusade of piling up runs on the board as the wicket flattened out over time. The wicket slowly turned into a batting paradise. Head took the brunt on his shoulder of swiftly garnering runs.
Most 200+ partnerships for Aus vs Ind
3 Ricky Ponting - Michael Clarke
2 Steven Smith - Travis Head
Most Test hundreds against India
10 in 41 innings: Steven Smith
10 in 55 innings: Joe Root
8 in 30 innings: Gary Sobers
8 in 41 innings: Viv Richards
8 in 51 innings: Ricky Ponting
