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Australian batter Steve Smith took his Test great stature one notch higher as he set an all-time record in the ongoing Ashes series. Smith, who is regarded as one of the best players of the format, amassed 9000 Test runs to set a record. The Aussie star achieved the feat in the second Test of the Ashes 2023 at Lord’s.
Smith came out to bat at No.4 and needed 31 runs to get to the 9000 mark. When he was on 28 runs in the first innings, Smith hit a four off England captain Ben Stokes to reach the historic milestone. He has become the fastest player in the world (in terms of matches taken) to hit 9000 runs in Test cricket. The 34-year-old is currently playing his 99th Test match and he is two games above the next best – Brian Lara.
The former Aussie captain has also leapfrogged India’s Legendary duo of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. While Sachin played 111 matches to reach the feat, Dravid scaled the milestone in 104 games.
Smith is second in terms of innings taken
However, Smith is in the second spot in terms of innings taken to reach 9000 Test runs. The right-handed batter took 174 innings, whereas Sri Lanka’s iconic player Kumar Sangakkara completed the feat in 172 outings itself. Tendulkar took 179 innings, whereas Dravid was better here too, with 176 innings taken.
In the ongoing Ashes series, Australia are 1-0 up in the five-match contest. England opted to bowl in the second match of the series in Lord’s as the pitch seemed green. But the Stokes’ side could not make much inroads as it scalped only two wickets in the first two sessions of the day. Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are unbeaten for 38 and 45, respectively and the duo have added 94 runs for the 3rd wicket. At Tea, Australia were 190/2, with David Warner’s brisk 66 being the top score in the first two sessions.
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