Australia batter Steve Smith slammed his 42nd Test half-century on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test against India at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Thursday to join the elusive list of batters to achieve the unique record. Smith has now joined legendary batters Ricky Ponting, Don Bradman and Greg Chappell to register 10 or more 50-plus scores in Tests at the iconic venue. It was Smith's 10th fifty-plus score at MCG in his 12th Test at the venue that earned him entry among the greats of the game. Chappell leads the chart with 13 fifty-plus scores from 17 Tests while Bradman (12 from 11 Tests) and Ponting (11 from 15 Tests) also feature in the list.
Smith, who completed his half-century off 71 balls in the final session, was unbeaten for 68, including five fours and a six at stumps on Day 1. Australian batters enjoyed a great outing in the middle and ended the opening day for 311/6 in 86 overs.
For Australia, the 19-year-old debutant Sam Konstas slammed 60 while Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne contributed 57 and 72, respectively, to give an upper hand to the home side in the crucial encounter.
Australia skipper Pat Cummins, who opted to bat first, returned not out for eight runs and will look to continue his knock along with Smith on Friday.
For India, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah returned with the figures of 3-75 in his 21 overs while Akash Deep, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar bagged one scalp apiece.
The five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series is currently tied at 1-1 after the third Test in Brisbane ended in a draw. India won the series opener by 295-run in Perth before facing a crushing 10-wicket defeat in the pink-ball Test at Adelaide Oval.
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