Steven Smith slams 34th Test ton as Australia post 474 after opting to bat in 'Boxing Day Test'

Steven Smith brought up his 34th Test hundred while skipper Pat Cummins chipped in with a valuable 49 as Australia posted a challenging 474 on the board after opting to bat in the ‘Boxing Day Test’ against India in Melbourne. Resuming from their overnight score of 311/6 , Smith and Cummins stretched their partnership for the eighth wicket past the century mark to ensure the hosts went past the 400 for the second time in as many Tests.

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Smith, who was batting on 68 at stumps on the opening day, was off to a brisk start on the second day and brought up the magical three-figure mark for the second time in as many Tests with a boundary off all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, pushing the ball through extra cover in the 101st over.

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Cummins, on the other hand, was on the verge of bringing up his fourth Test half-century when he perished shortly before the lunch interval, with left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja getting the breakthrough thanks to a fine catch by Reddy, bringing the 112-run partnership for the seventh-wicket to an end.

Smith managed to build another handy partnership after Cummins’ departure, this time with Mitchell Starc to guide the hosts to 454/7 at lunch – the morning session going entirely in Australia’s favour.

Both Smith and Starc, however, departed within a space of a few deliveries after resumption of play, getting cleaned up by Jadeja and Akash Deep respectively. Senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah brought the innings to an end by trapping Nathan Lyon LBW, finishing the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/99 with Jadeja collecting 3/78.

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The series is currently tied at 1-1 with India and Australia having won one game each. While India, who have been in possession of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy since 2017, went 1-0 up with a 295-run victory in the series opener in Perth, Australia bounced back with a 10-wicket thrashing in the pink-ball Test in Adelaide.

The third Test at The Gabba in Brisbane was affected by rain on all five days and ended in a stalemate despite the hosts collecting a sizeable first innings lead.