Smith’s unbeaten ton highest score by an Oz skipper in India
NEW DELHI: Steve Smith has been the difference maker for Australia in the current series against India. In the Pune Test, his century set up Australia’s crushing 333-run win to break a 13-year winless streak in India. His 19th ton in the Ranchi Test not only helped him become the third quickest Australian to go past 5,000 runs, but it boosted Australia to the highest total in the series so far.
Steve Smith continued his great form on the second day and he shared a 191-run stand with Glenn Maxwell, who scored his maiden century.
He then shared a 64-run stand with Matthew Wade and a 51-run stand with Steve O’Keefe as Australia were bowled out for 451. Smith was unlucky to miss out on a double century but his 178 not out broke records in the process.
Steve Smith’s knock of 178 is the highest score by an Australian captain in Tests in India. He beat the previous mark of 130 which was achieved by Michael Clarke in the Chennai Test in 2013. Overall, he is only the eighth Australian captain to have scored a 100 in India. Clarke, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Allan Border, Adam Gilchrist, Mark Taylor and Kim Hughes are the others to have achieved this feat.
However, what sets Smith apart from the rest is that he is the only Australian captain in history to have scored two centuries in India. He smashed 109 in Pune and 178 not out in Ranchi, which was his sixth century in the last seven Tests against India.
If one looks at overall figures, his knock of 178 is the fifth best by a visiting skipper in Tests in India. Clive Lloyd of West Indies is the only captain to have hit a double century when he smashed 242 in Mumbai in 1975.
Alastair Cook of England is next on the list when he smashed 190 in Kolkata in 2012. Alvin Kallicharran of West Indies is next on the list with 187 in Mumbai in 1978 while Pakistan’s Inzamamul-Haq is fourth with 184 in the Bangalore Test of 2005.
However, Steve Smith is only the third captain to have hit more than one century in India. Lloyd and Cook both have four centuries while Smith has two. If one looks at Australian batsmen overall, Smith’s 178 is the third-highest individual score in Tests in India. Dean Jones magnificent 210 in the 1986 tied Test in Chennai tops the list followed by Matthew Hayden’s 203 in 2001 also in Chennai. Only 10 Australian batsmen have managed to score 150-plus in Tests played in India. With two centuries in India, Smith joins Hayden, Norm O’Neill, Border, Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn in a prestigious list. Clarke and Neil Harvey have the most number of tons in India with three each.