Sat Feb 08 04:50:24 UTC 2025: ## Smith’s Century Propels Australia in Sri Lanka Test
**Colombo, Sri Lanka** – Steve Smith’s 36th Test century powered Australia to a commanding position on day two of the second Test against Sri Lanka. His impressive knock, an unbeaten 120, helped Australia reach 330/3 at stumps, giving them a 73-run lead. Smith’s innings also saw him surpass Virat Kohli’s record for most Test centuries scored overseas by an Australian. He now stands alongside Alistair Cook and Brian Lara with 17 overseas Test centuries.
Smith’s performance wasn’t just about individual milestones. His century, alongside Alex Carey’s unbeaten 139, put Australia firmly in control after Sri Lanka were bowled out for 257 in their first innings. Kusal Mendis (85*) and Angelo Mathews (74) were the top scorers for Sri Lanka.
The match also saw several other notable achievements for Smith. He now shares the record for most centuries among active Test cricketers with Joe Root (both on 36), and is fifth on the all-time list. He is also third on the list of active players with the most international centuries (48, tied with Rohit Sharma).
While Smith’s performance dominated headlines, the match also featured other news: Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar expressed his displeasure with KL Rahul’s performance (details not provided in the original text); concerns were raised about the performance of Telangana’s Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister (details not provided in the original text); and several unrelated news items, including rising gold prices in India, political events in Delhi, and a tragic event in Tamil Nadu, were mentioned. The original text also contained multiple repeated sentences seemingly unrelated to the Sri Lanka-Australia cricket match.
First Piper 