Steve Smith falls one short of 10,000 Test runs during SCG Test as Jaiswal grabs gully stunner

Steven Smith squandered a gilt-edged chance to achieve a remarkable feat on his home ground on Sunday, January 5, during the first session on Day 3 of the fifth Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The former Australia captain needed just five runs in the fourth innings to get into the prestigious 10,000-run club in Test cricket at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground. However, he was dismissed for four to remain stranded on 9,999.

Smith would have been only the 15th player to amass 10,000 runs in the longest format of the game and the fourth Australian after Ricky Ponting, Allan Border, and Steve Waugh. However, the talismanic batter will have to wait a little longer to register the epic milestone.

Also Check: Virat Kohli mocks SCG crowd with controversial sandpaper gesture after Smith's wicket

Smith departed in the closing stages of the morning session on Day 3 as he was dismissed by Prasidh Krishna. The Karnataka pacer bowled a shortish delivery that climbed steeply after pitching. Smith had made an interesting choice to take a couple of steps down the pitch. This put him in a real tangle as he could only fend it off the splice of the bat, low to the right of Yashasvi Jaiswal at third slip. The Indian opener dived at the perfect moment to complete a good low catch.

Smith finished with 314 runs from nine innings at an average of 34.88. He notched up two centuries during the series to continue his love affair with India.

Earlier in the day, India were bowled out for 157 after they lost their last four wickets for just 16 runs. Australia were set a target of 162 to chase down in the fourth innings. A win for Australia will help them reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years. They have a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.