Steve Smith strokes his 21 Test century; Breaks Tendulkar's long-lasting record

Experts have always believed if Virat Kohli is chasing Tendulkar’s ODI records, Steve Smith is doing the same in the longest version of the game. The Australian Test captain has always been a match-winner in the white jerseys and he played one of the knocks of his life at The Gabba in the first Test against arch-rivals England.

Cricketers can earn fan following like Dhoni or Tendulkar only when they play big knocks in big games. Steve Smith has done exactly that, stroking a majestic hundred against the run of play. This was his 21st Test century, which makes him the 3rd fastest player to reach that mark. Sir Donald Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar are the only ones ahead of him.

Smith paced his innings brilliantly though his side kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Barring a half-century from Shaun Marsh, the Australian innings was all about Smith’s masterclass, which propelled them to a first-innings lead defying all the odds. Australia finished with 328 in their first innings as Smith remained unbeaten on 141 off 326 balls.

A ray of hope for the hosts

The first Test seemed like a game out of hands for the Aussies when England scored over 300 on a pitch that was a little too tricky for the Batters. Australia lost 4 wickets for just 76 runs, which made it evident that only a miracle can save the Kangaroos from the Three Lions, who were in a great mood to hunt.

Things started to change with Shaun Marsh and Smith building a partnership and the Aussie ship, which was one the verge of sinking, just about found some wind. The duo added 99 runs for the fifth wicket and after Marsh fell on Day 3, it was a one-man show from him.

England finished day 3 losing two big wickets of the experienced Alastair Cook and the star from the first innings, James Vince. Josh Hazlewood picked up both these wickets and Australia find themselves having the upper-hand in the game as of now.

Fewest innings taken to reach 21st Test centuries