Stand-in Australian captain Steve Smith has become the fourth player from the country to reach 10000 Test runs, getting there on day one of the opening Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium. The right-handed batter raised his bat after getting to the milestone with a single as he became the 15th batter overall to do so.
The 35-year-old had finished on 9999 runs, getting out cheaply in the fourth innings of the fifth and final Test against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The moment in Galle occurred in the 31st over of the innings bowled by Prabath Jayasuriya as he flicked the ball to the right of mid-on and ran a quick single. Inevitably, his teammates clapped for him as he joined an elite class of Australians in Ricky Ponting, Allan Border and Steve Waugh.
Below is the video of the elusive moment when the New South Welshman got to 10000 runs:
Travis Head races off the blocks to give Australia solid foundation
Travis Head, who replaced Sam Konstas as the opener in this series, gave the tourists an excellent start, slamming a quick-fire 57 before holing out to long-on as Dinesh Chandimal took a simple catch. Jayasuriya picked up the wicket to break the dangerous 92-run opening stand.
The Baggy Greens reached 145/2 in 32 overs at lunch as Usman Khawaja remains key with his unbeaten 65*. Smith had earlier won the toss and opted to bat first, with Josh Inglis making his red-ball debut for Australia. Sri Lanka will be slightly upset, given they missed a few opportunities as well.
