Steve Smith scores his 35th hundred as Australia dominate Day 1 of SL vs AUS 2025 1st Test [Watch]

Australia batter Steve Smith scored his 35th ton on Day 1 of the ongoing Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium on Wednesday, January 29. With his 35th century, Smith went past legendary batters like Sunil Gavaskar and Younis Khan, both of whom finished their careers with 34 Test hundreds each.

Smith got to the landmark in the 78th over of Australia's first innings, bowled by off-spinner Nishan Peiris. The right-handed batter punched a length ball through the cover region and with the outfield in Galle being slow, Smith and Usman Khawaja were able to run three as the former completed his ton.

Watch the moment here:

The New South Welshman has now scored three hundreds in his last four Tests, including the Brisbane and Melbourne Tests against India. Among active batters, Smith now has the second-most number of Test centuries behind Joe Root (36).

Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja score unbeaten hundreds as Australia pile on 330 on Day 1 in Galle

Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja. (Credits: Getty)

Smith and Khawaja, two seasoned Test batters, had together added an unbroken 195 by stumps on Day 1 of the first Test of the two-match series. They had joined hands in the middle when Marnus Labuschagne fell for 20.

The pair showed positive intent throughout, making run-scoring relatively easy on a tricky surface against Prabath Jayasuriya, Nishan Peiris and Jefferey Vandersay. Due to drizzle in Galle, umpires had to stop the play when only 81.1 overs were bowled.

Jayasuriya and Vandersay dismissed opener Travis Head (57) and Labuschagne (20), respectively, but the day unanimously belonged to Australia, who will look to bat Sri Lanka out of the contest. Earlier, stand-in captain Smith won the toss and opted to bat first.

The 35-year-old, who also completed 10,000 Test runs, will be glad to see Australia dominate Day 1 in Galle. Khawaja and Smith will resume Day 2 on personal scores of 147 and 104, respectively, with Australia on 330/2.