Steve Smith Shatters Ricky Ponting’s Catching Record on Australia’s Dominant First Day

Steve Smith has achieved yet another impressive milestone in Sri Lanka, as the home team crumbled towards the end of play in Galle.

When Prabath Jayasuriya edged a delivery to Smith at second slip late on the first day of the second Test, the interim captain recorded his 197th Test catch. This remarkable achievement means he now holds the record for the most Test catches by an Australian, surpassing Ricky Ponting.

This catch also placed Mitchell Starc on the brink of a hat-trick after he dismissed Ramesh Mendis with the previous delivery. Unfortunately, Starc’s next ball was too wide for Nishan Peiris to capitalise on.

It was a commanding day for Australia, with Sri Lanka concluding play at 9-228 after opting to bat first.

“If you’d asked Australia, after losing the toss, if they would take nearly bowling Sri Lanka out for a score of close to 230, they’d gladly accept,” Greg Blewett remarked on Seven.

Sri Lanka had a promising start, reaching 1-87 at lunch, with Pathum Nissanka dismissed for 11 by Nathan Lyon.

However, post-lunch, the collapse began.

The scoreboard shifted from 1-87 to 5-127 in quick succession as Lyon claimed another couple of wickets, alongside contributions from Travis Head and Mitchell Starc.

Both of Starc’s wickets came shortly after Smith introduced them into the attack.

“Steve Smith is on fire,” Simon Katich commented on Seven as Starc bowled out captain Dhananjaya de Silva for a duck.

After tea, Sri Lanka walked off at 5-144, with their timing proving troublesome.

Dinesh Chandimal was stumped for 74 off Matt Kuhnemann’s bowling right after the break, reducing the score to 6-150.

Nevertheless, Sri Lanka managed to regroup, reaching 6-215 thanks to the steady resolve of Ramesh Mendis and Kusal Mendis.

Yet, as the new ball was introduced, Starc prised out Ramesh Mendis with a caught behind before Jayasuriya fell to the next delivery.

Peiris was the final wicket to fall, bowled by Kuhnemann for a duck, as Australia ended the day in a strong position.