NEW DELHI: "I got chainsawed," an angry Steve Smith had said after falling just one run short of the 10,000 Test runs milestone, finishing with 9,999 runs in the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India. He was only a single run away from completing this massive achievement.
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Smith had to wait 24 days for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, and the moment finally came during the 1st Test at the Galle International Cricket Stadium.
The milestone came quickly for Smith. On the very first delivery he faced in the match, the right-hander played left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya to short mid-wicket for a quick single, bringing up his 10,000th Test run.
Fastest to 10,000 Test Runs (by Innings):195 – Brian Lara (West Indies) vs England, Manchester (2004)195 – Sachin Tendulkar (India) vs Pakistan, Eden Gardens (2005)195 – Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) vs Australia, MCG (2012)196 – Ricky Ponting (Australia) vs West Indies, North Sound (2008)205 – Steve Smith (Australia) vs Sri Lanka, Galle (2025)206 – Rahul Dravid (India) vs South Africa, Chennai (2008)
As the crowd cheered, Smith, leading Australia in the absence of Pat Cummins, raised his bat and soaked in the applause, celebrating the significant achievement.
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Smith became the fifth-fastest cricketer to reach 10,000 Test runs. He also became the 15th player overall to achieve the feat and the fourth Australian, joining Ricky Ponting, Allan Border, and Steve Waugh.
List of players who have scored 10,000 or more Test runs:
Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 15,921 runs
Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 13,378 runs
Jacques Kallis (South Africa) – 13289 runs
Rahul Dravid (India) – 13,288 runs
Joe Root (England) - 12,972 runs
Alastair Cook (England) – 12,472 runs
Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) – 12,400 runs
Brian Lara (West Indies) – 11,953 runs
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies) – 11,867 runs
Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) – 11,814 runs
Allan Border (Australia) - 11,174 runs
Steve Waugh (Australia) – 10,927 runs
Sunil Gavaskar (India) – 10,122 runs
Younis Khan (Pakistan) - 10,099 runs
Steve Smith (Australia) – 10,000* runs (current)
