SL vs AUS 2nd Test: Steve Smith slams first ton in 18 months to surpass Virat Kohli, check reactions

SL vs AUS 2nd Test: Former Australia captain Steve Smith is back among runs. After a century drought of 18 months, Steve came back with a bang with a ton in the first innings of the 2nd Test. Smith went unbeaten on 109 at the stumps on the opening day of the Test, with Australia in a comfortable position at 298/5. Winning the toss, Australia opted to bat first. But they didn't get to a good start as they lost David Warner early. He made 5 off 13 balls. Marnus Labuschagne came in at 3 and finished with a ton, 104 off 156 balls. Soon Usman Khawaja departed after making 37. Then came in Steve Smith, battling for form, at No 4. But this time he had made up his mind to spend time in the middle. As a result of his patience and efforts, he stroked a fine hundred, his 28th overall in Test cricket, equalling Joe Root. The last time Root scored a ton was in January 21, 16 innings ago. So, a long drought has finally ended for him. 

Check how fans reacted to his fabulous ton.

28th Test hundred for Steve Smith. Equals Root's tally. And now he has taken his Test avg beyond 60 which was below it before the start of the innings. If he scores 144 or more, his avg will remain above 60 even after he's dismissed. — Gurkirat Singh Gill (@gurkiratsgill) July 8, 2022

Steve Smith goat test player. Btw It hurts seeing everyone surpassing kohlis test century count. — _ (@rrohan_) July 8, 2022

28 th Hundred from modern Don Bradman chanceless hundred u beauty Steve Smith _

— Aussie fan (@rajeshsmart) July 8, 2022

If kohli is king. Then Smith is an emperor and root is a God.

Steve Smith and mini Smith (marnus labushagne) with some amazing centuries against the mighty Lankans in their own backyard.#cricket #SLvsAUS #stevesmith — Anuraag Shankar (@Luke_Boi21) July 8, 2022

Smith has also surpassed Virat Kohli, in terms of centuries scored in the longest format of the gme. Root has 28 centuries from 121 Tests. Smith has 28 from 87 Tests while Kane Williamson has 24 tons from 88 matches. Kohli has 27 tons from 102 matches. He has not scored a Test ton in more than 3 years, with his last century coming against Bangladesh in November 2019. Among the modern greats, Root and Smith are leading the race in terms of centuries while fans wait for Kohli 2.0 to load. 

Smith is still unbeaten and will hope to bat longer on Day 2 of the 2nd Test as well, maybe try and get to a double century to put Australia in a strong position.