Steve Smith equals Lara, Gavaskar, Jayawardene and Younis Khan's record

Australia's star batter Steve Smith etched his name alongside cricketing legends on Friday by scoring his 34th Test century during the ongoing Boxing Day Test against India.

Smith, already regarded as one of the modern greats, became the 11th batter in Test cricket history to reach this milestone, joining an elite group that includes Pakistan's Younis Khan, West Indies' Brian Lara, India's Sunil Gavaskar, and Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene.

Smith’s stunning innings of 140 off 197 balls, laced with 13 boundaries and three sixes, was his second consecutive century in the series. With this achievement, he has also closed in on the tallies of India’s Rahul Dravid and England’s Joe Root, both of whom have 36 Test centuries. Additionally, Smith surpassed Root to claim the record for most Test centuries (11) against India.

The prolific batter's brilliance laid the foundation for Australia’s daunting first-innings total of 474. Smith played a pivotal role in key partnerships, including a 112-run stand with captain Pat Cummins, which extended from their overnight score. He further stabilized Australia’s innings with lower-order contributions from Mitchell Starc (15) and Nathan Lyon (13) before being unusually dismissed by Akash Deep.

Smith’s outstanding performance ensured Australia ended day two in a commanding position. In response, India struggled to 164/5 by stumps, still trailing by 310 runs. Smith's heroics not only elevated his stature in the annals of cricket history but also bolstered Australia’s prospects in this penultimate Test of the series.