Coming in to bat at No.4, Smith displayed his trademark precision and composure, forging a strong partnership with Usman Khawaja. His hundred, achieved off 179 balls (10x4, 1x6) in his 205th innings, places him third on the list of fastest to 35 Test centuries, trailing only Ricky Ponting (195) and Sachin Tendulkar (200) in terms of innings taken to reach the milestone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Smith is now only the seventh batter to record 35 Test centuries, joining an elite list that includes Tendulkar (51), Jacques Kallis (45), Ponting (41), Kumar Sangakkara (38), Rahul Dravid (36), and Joe Root (36).<\/p>\r\n\r\n
His achievement is further amplified by his captaincy record, as this was his 16th Test hundred as Australia captain, surpassing Allan Border and Steve Waugh, both of whom had 15. Among Australian captains, only Ponting (19) has scored more centuries, while globally, Smith ranks fourth behind Graeme Smith (25), Virat Kohli (20), and Ponting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Smith\u2019s dominance with the bat extends to his numbers as a leader, as he closed in on 4,000 Test runs as captain, boasting an average of over 68 \u2014 second only to Don Bradman\u2019s extraordinary 101 among skippers with at least 3,000 Test runs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
His achievement is further amplified by his captaincy record, as this was his 16th Test hundred as Australia captain, surpassing Allan Border and Steve Waugh, both of whom had 15. Among Australian captains, only Ponting (19) has scored more centuries, while globally, Smith ranks fourth behind Graeme Smith (25), Virat Kohli (20), and Ponting.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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