Australia vs Sri Lanka Test: Steve Smith reaches 10,000 Test runs, Australia 145-2 at lunch

Steve Smith reaches 10,000 test runs as Australia dominates Sri Lanka in first test match.

Steve Smith scored his 10,000th test run to put him in elite cricket company and Australia was 145-2 after winning the toss and batting Wednesday (January 29, 2025) in the first test against Sri Lanka.

Smith needed only one run on Wednesday to achieve the milestone, and he was 2 not out at lunch along with opener Usman Khawaja, who was unbeaten on 65. Smith was on 9,999 career test runs when he was dismissed in the fifth Australia-India test in Sydney earlier this month.

Smith became the 15th player in test cricket, and fourth Australian, to score 10,000 runs in a career. He brought up the milestone on his first delivery, skipping down the wicket and punching a single to mid-on.

Ricky Ponting (13,378), Allan Border (11,174), and Steve Waugh (10,927) are the other Australian batters to have scored 10,000 runs in a test career. Sachin Tendulkar is the leading all-time test scorer with 15,921 runs.

Earlier Khawaja and Travis Head made the most of spin-friendly conditions in Galle, crafting half-centuries.

On a surface expected to favor the spinners, Australia’s batters countered with positive intent, regularly finding the boundary and forcing Sri Lanka to spread the field. Head, in particular, was in a punishing mood, reaching his half-century in just 35 balls, leaving Sri Lanka scrambling for answers.

Khawaja, in contrast, adopted a more measured approach, playing with patience while rotating the strike. The duo stitched together a commanding 92-run opening stand before Head fell for 57, caught at long-on off Prabath Jayasuriya.