Steve Smith has provided another emphatic reminder that he’s far from a spent force in red-ball cricket after notching his 34th Test century on day two of the fourth Test against India. The Aussie veteran resumed Friday on 68 not out and Australia 6-311, hoping to build upon a superb day one that included a flamboyant debut Test century for Sam Konstas, who was also at the centre of a run-in with India’s Virat Kohli.

Smith notched his 33rd Test ton in the first innings of the Gabba Test to overtake Aussie legend and former captain Steve Waugh on the all-time list of Test centuries. And in Friday’s opening session of day two at the MCG, the 35-year-old made it two centuries in as many Tests to move into equal-seventh on the all-time list and ram home Australia’s advantage. Skipper Pat Cummins just missed out on his own half century after being dismissed for 49 as Australia got to lunch on 7-454.

Smith brought up his latest milestone when he drove Nitish Kumar for four midway through the first session to move alongside a number of cricket icons including India great Sunil Gavaskar and Windies legend Brian Lara, with 34 Test hundreds. It was Smith’s 11th Test century against India, which sees him surpass England star Joe Root (10) for the most of any batter and adds to the 12 Ashes tons he’s made in an extraordinary career.

It also continues Smith’s love affair with the MCG, where he averages more than 80 across his career in Boxing Day Tests, with that number set to rise even further. Smith has now scored five tons in Boxing Day Tests and looks to have rediscovered some of his best form off the back of his 101 in the first innings of the rained-out Gabba Test.

Before that Smith hadn’t hit a Test ton since June 2023 and his Test average had dropped to a nine-year low of 56.09. Smith also failed to hit a boundary in the opening two Tests of this series against India and had just one fifty to his name in seven matches this year, leaving critics questioning his future in Test cricket.

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Steve Smith’s career resurgence continues at the MCG

A combined 19 runs across Smith’s first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar series sparked serious concerns about the 35-year-old’s form and whether he still had what it takes to play at the highest level. However, Smith has proven in the last two Test matches that form is temporary but class is permanent, after putting Australia in the box seat to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

Smith was eventually removed for 140 shortly after lunch, with his latest Test ton coming after Konstas took on Jasprit Bumrah and smashed an unforgettable 60 on Boxing Day. Usman Khawaja (57) and Marnus Labuschagne (72) both capitalised on the platform laid by the audacious 19-year-old rookie as Australia’s top-four all passed 50 in the same innings for the first time since March 2022 against Pakistan.

Ricky Ponting leads criticism of penalty for Virat Kohli

The dramatic opening day was somewhat overshadowed by Kohli’s class with the 19-year-old Konstas, with the India veteran fined 20% of his match fee and docked one demerit point for deliberately shoulder-bumping the youngster during a change of ends. Kohli’s punishment was the same teammate Mohammed Siraj received for his tirade towards Travis Head during the second Test in Adelaide, with Ricky Ponting among those to question why Kohli wasn’t suspended.

“That could have escalated and got out of hand really easily,” Ponting said on Seven’s coverage. “As far as I’m concerned, it was pre-meditated, it was deliberate and it showed just how flustered India were at the time. There’s no doubt that the way Sam played, the way the Australians approached the morning’s play yesterday, really got under the skin of India.

“(Kohli’s) someone the cricketing world looks up to and I don’t think the punishment was harsh enough. I know there are precedents and they’ve generally been a 15 to 25% fine, but the contact was reasonably severe when you think about it, compared to some of the other ones that we’ve seen.”