Steve Smith’s fifth Boxing Day Test century took Australia to 474 in the first innings of their fourth Test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Friday. Smith (140) hit his second century in as many Tests as Australia posted an impressive tally, with the hosts moving on to 311-6 after a dominant opening day in which all the top four players shot 50 or more to set a solid platform. However, Smith escaped in rather bizarre fashion, falling 10 runs short of the 150 milestone.

Smith, who slammed his 34th Test century, stretched out in extraordinary fashion after charging down his popping crease to follow through Akash Deep’s throw. The ball trickled onto the leg stump and released a ball. Smith had an unhappy look on his face as the ball hit the stumps.

Oh dear Steve Smith!

This is as bizarre as it gets #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/ZDUWggwBq4

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 27, 2024

Smith and skipper Pat Cummins (49) put together a 144-run partnership in the morning to take the hosts past the 400-run mark.

It was a patient stroke from the 35-year-old that put him on the overall list of century makers along with four other players, including Sunil Gavaskar and Brian Lara.

Only six players have scored more goals, led by Sachin Tendulkar with 51.

The five-match series is tied 1-1 after India won by 295 runs in Perth before being beaten by 10 wickets in Adelaide. The rain-affected third Test in Brisbane has been drawn.

For India, Jasprit Bumrah (4/99) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/78) shared seven wickets while Akash Deep (2/94) also claimed a few.

Opting to bat, Australia made the most of the good batting surface as Sam Konstas (60), Marnus Labuschagne (72) and Usman Khawaja (57) scored fifties on the first day.

(With AFP inputs)