Steve Smith narrowly missed the 10,000 Test run milestone for the second consecutive time in two days. He was dismissed just five runs short on Saturday. And on Sunday, he was shy of the milestone by one run.
On Sunday, during the Jane McGrath Day of the Pink Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, he fell one run shy of the landmark. Nearly 40,000 spectators witnessed Prasidh Krishna dismiss Smith in the second innings of the fifth Test between India and Australia.
Smith edged a rising delivery to the gully, becoming the second batter after Mahela Jayawardene to be dismissed on 9,999 Test runs. His next chance to reach the milestone will be against Sri Lanka in Galle.
Smith is poised to become the 15th player to achieve this feat. He would also be the fourth Australian to reach the 10,000-run mark, joining Allan Border, Steve Waugh, and Ricky Ponting.
Allan Border recently praised Smith's achievements and compared him to some of the game's all-time greats. “Averaging 57 or so is in the top echelon ever, if you take one certain bloke [Bradman] out of it and he's right up there with the very, very best,” he told
Nine newspaper.
“As far as Australia's concerned, we've had Greg Chappell, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, those sorts of players.”
“But now Steve [Smith] ranks equally with that group, no problems whatsoever. I'm a huge fan of Tendulkar and Lara, they were phenomenally good cricketers, but Steve is definitely up with that lot, for sure.”
Smith was the fastest batter to 8,000 Test runs and the second fastest to 9,000. However, reaching the 10,000 mark has proven more challenging than anticipated.
Smith experienced a relatively lean 2023-24 season, which included a short stint as an opener following David Warner's retirement. He scored back-to-back centuries in Brisbane and Melbourne, bringing him close to the milestone. Now, the wait continues.
Smith is expected to captain Australia on the tour of Sri Lanka. Pat Cummins is anticipated to miss at least one Test due to the birth of his second child.
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