Stand-in Australia captain Steve Smith and opener Usman Khawaja put on a mammoth third-wicket partnership in Galle in the first Test against Sri Lanka, blitzing an almost half a century old record.
Smith and Khawaja put on 266 batting together across days one and two of the match, putting Australia in prime position. The two came together two overs before Lunch on day one after Marnus Labuschagne was dismissed by Jeffrey Vandersay for 20. He was the second wicket to fall in the session, new opener Travis Head having skied a ball from Prabath Jayasuriya to Dinesh Chandimal in the 15th over of the day.
Khawaja's brilliant run in Aisa continues
From there, the two senior batters stamped their authority on the innings. Smith scored his 10,000th Test match run off the first ball he faced, after finishing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy one run short of the milestone. Khawaja, who had already reached 50 by the time Smith came to the crease, reached his century midway through the afternoon session off 135 balls. It was his fifth hundred in Asia, all of which have come since he was recalled to the Test side in 2022.
Smith, who is standing in as captain for the series with Pat Cummins away on paternity leave and carrying an ankle injury, reached his own century in the evening session. It's his third Test century in four matches after he made up for an 18 month hundred drought in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
