Picture Credit: Twitter
Australia after winning the toss opted to bat first and so far have posted a huge score 475/4 in first two days of 3rd Test against South Africa with the help of brilliant tons from Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith. Travis Head also smashed a brisk fifty while Marnus Labuschagne also scored 79 runs with the bat. Notably, Khawaja is just 5 runs short of recording his maiden double ton and he might go berserk to enter the record books tomorrow.
Numbers and stats from AUS vs SA 3rd T20I:
30 - Steven Smith recorded his 30th century in Test cricket.
Most centuries for Australia in Test cricket:
Ricky Ponting - 41
Steve Waugh - 32
Matthew Hayden / Steven Smith - 30
Don Bradman - 29
Steven Smith has surpassed the tally of Sir Don Bradman for scoring most Test hundreds.
50.07 - Steven Smith averages 50.07 with the bat in international cricket.
Batters with fifty-plus average in international cricket (Min. 10K runs):
Virat Kohli - 53.59
Steven Smith - 50.07
162 - Steven Smith has taken just 162 innings to complete 30 Test hundreds.
Fewest innings taken to complete 30 Test hundreds:
Sachin Tendulkar - 159
Steven Smith - 162
Matthew Hayden - 167
Ricky Ponting - 170
Sunil Gavaskar - 174
Only Sachin has taken fewer innings than Steven Smith to smash 30 Test centuries.
195 - Usman Khawaja has recorded his highest Test score (195*).
Highest score for Usman Khawaja in Test cricket:
195* vs SA in Sydney, 2023
174 vs NZ in Brisbane, 2015
171 vs ENG in Sydney, 2018
209 - Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith had 209 run partnership for 3rd wicket.
Highest 3rd wicket partnership for AUS against SA in Tests:
Warren Bardsley-Charles Kelleway: 242 at Lord's, 1912
Steven Smith-David Warner: 239 in Melbourne, 2022
Herbie Collins-Jack Gregory: 209 in Johannesburg, 1921
Usman Khawaja-Steven Smith: 209 in Sydney, 2023
2053 - Steven Smith became 4th batsman to complete 2000 international runs (2053) at Sydney Cricket Ground. Also, Steven Smith became 6th batter to complete 1000 Test runs (1017) at Sydney Cricket Ground.
Most international runs at Sydney Cricket Ground:
Ricky Ponting - 2853
Allan Border - 2738
David Boon - 2117
Steven Smith - 2053
Mark Waugh - 1992
Most Test runs at Sydney Cricket Ground:
Ricky Ponting - 1480
Allan Border - 1177
Greg Chappell - 1150
David Boon - 1127
Steve Waugh - 1084
Steven Smith - 1017
Matthew Hayden - 962
8647 - Steven Smith has surpassed Matthew Hayden and Michael Clarke to become 4th highest run-scorer (8647) for Australia in Test Cricket.
Most runs for Australia in Test Cricket:
Ricky Ponting - 13378
Allan Border - 11174
Steve Waugh - 10927
Steven Smith - 8647
Michael Clarke - 8643
Matthew Hayden - 8625