WATCH: Steve Smith ends bad run of form with terrific ton during Gabba Test

Veteran Australian batter Steve Smith ended his poor run of form with the bat with his 33rd Test century. The 35-year-old scored just 19 runs in the previous matches that he played during the ongoing series against India. On Sunday, Smith came out to bat with his side reeling at 38/2 in the 19th over. 

Smith had issues early in his innings when he was troubled by the Indian bowlers. The right-handed batter struggled even after the lunch break with a few plays and misses. After seeing his partner Travis Head score runs with ease at the other end, Smith began to gain confidence. 

For the first time in 25 innings, since the 2023 Ashes at Lord's, Steve Smith has a Test match century!

It's the 33rd of his career, moving him into outright second for Australia 👏#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/4kt6rcDsYJ

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 15, 2024

The veteran batter got to the 3 figure mark with a single off Akash Deep in the second ball of the 82nd over. Smith's century came off 185 balls with his 2nd fifty coming in just 57 balls as he started to doiminate the Indian bowling unit. Just a ball before, Smith had reached 99 with a terrific on drive against the same bowler as the Australian team continued tormenting the Indian bowlers. 

Timely century for Steve Smith amidst questions about place in team

2024 hasn’t been a great year with the bat for Steve Smith as he has failed to score runs consistently. Smith scored 91 not out at the same venue at the start of the year against West Indies in a game which the home team lost by 8 runs. The move to open the batting didn’t work out well for Smith who moved back to number 4 ahead of the India series. 

Just before the start of the game, Smith was given backing by skipper Pat Cummins. The Aussie skipper said, "You look at his record, stats would suggest (runs) are not far around the corner. In particular this year, he's looking fantastic in the nets, just looking really sharp, looking like he's got plenty of time. doing all the right things like he always does.”

The 31-year-old also said, “He got caught down the leg side last game. I don't know if you can look into that too much, so I'm sure a big score's just around the corner." Jasprit Bumrah dismissed the batter during the game in Perth and also during the 1st innings in Adelaide. With this century Smith has sent a huge reminder to all the critics who has have been questioning his place in the side.