Steve Smith remained unbeaten on 104 after becoming the 15th player to surpass 10,000 Test runs, guiding Australia to a commanding 330-2 on day one of the opening Test in Galle on Wednesday. He partnered with fellow centurion Usman Khawaja, who was on 147, as they added an unbroken 195 runs in two wicketless afternoon sessions. The tourists chose to bat first after Sri Lanka won the toss, but rain brought an early end to the day’s play.
Smith reached his milestone by taking three runs off Nishan Peiris, celebrating his third century in four matches by raising his bat to the crowd. He had entered the match with 9,999 Test runs and took a single off his very first ball from Prabath Jayasuriya. The Australian captain became only the fourth Australian after Allan Border, Steve Waugh, and Ricky Ponting to score 10,000 Test runs.
Smith survived an early chance when Jayasuriya missed a sharp return catch, a missed opportunity Sri Lanka would regret as Smith made them pay for it. His century marked his 35th in Test cricket.
Meanwhile, Khawaja also reached a significant milestone, scoring his 16th Test century, and his first in Sri Lanka, after a long wait since his Ashes century in June 2023. His century came with a graceful flick off Asitha Fernando to the fine-leg boundary. Khawaja did have a few nervy moments, with edges falling just short of fielders and a missed review when he was on 74, but he was eventually rewarded for his perseverance.
Earlier, Travis Head played a quickfire knock of 57 off 40 balls, including 10 fours and a six, putting Sri Lanka on the defensive right from the start. Head replaced 19-year-old Sam Konstas as an opener and shared a 92-run stand with Khawaja before falling to a misjudged shot off Jayasuriya.
Marnus Labuschagne also fell for 20, caught by first slip off Jeffrey Vandersay’s left-arm spin. With three specialist spinners in their lineup, Australia is well-positioned, especially with the pitch likely to deteriorate as the match progresses.
