Steve Smith was rated as the greatest Test batter of the modern era, however, the last few years weren't great for him as he struggled for consistency. The veteran batter, however, turned things around in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy where he smashed two centuries. Smith continued his form in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle and slammed his 35th Test hundred, the second-best for Australia after Ricky Ponting (41). Smith also breached the 10,000 run mark in Test cricket, becoming the fourth Australian and 15th overall to do so. He was also the third fastest to reach the landmark - in 205 innings. Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, and Kumar Sangakkara reached the milestone in 195 innings while Ponting claimed the feat in 196 innings.

Smith vs Tendulkar vs Ponting Stats After 205 Innings

Meanwhile, Steve Smith's record after 205 Test innings is astonishingly similar to that of Tendulkar and Ponting. Smith scored 10,140 runs in 205 innings, while Tendulkar and Ponting scored 10,360 and 10,357 runs respectively. Interestingly, all three players had almost the same number of hundreds after 205 innings. Smith and Tendulkar scored 35 centuries after 205 innings, while Ponting had scored 36.

After 205 Test Innings	Steve Smith	Sachin Tendulkar	Ricky Ponting
Runs	10,140	10,360	10,357
AVG	56.33	56.3	57.86
SR	53.58	53.97	58.78
100s	35	35	36
50s	41	41	41
HS	239	248*	257

Smith clearly is on par with two of the greatest Test players, but it's only fair to mention Joe Root's name as well as he has been batting on a different level and has leapfrogged Smith in the list of best Test batters of the current era. Virat Kohli was also in the race till 2020 but he is nowhere in the picture now after struggling in the format for almost half a decade. Among all, Root is closest to breaking Tendulkar's record of most Test runs, with the England batter needing just over 3000 runs to surpass the India great's tally of 15,921 runs.

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