New Delhi: Steve Smith added another remarkable milestone to his illustrious Test career, surpassing England's Joe Root to become the most prolific fielder in Test cricket history during the first Test between South Africa and Australia at Kingsmead in Durban.
Smith achieved the feat on the third day of the match when he secured the dismissal of David Bedingham off the bowling of captain Pat Cummins. Bedingham, who was batting on 49, edged a back-of-a-length delivery toward first slip, prompting Smith to dive sharply to his left to complete the catch and deny the South African batter a half-century.
That catch lifted Smith's career total to 221 dismissals as a fielder in the longest format of the game, nudging him past Root's previous benchmark of 220. India batting great Rahul Dravid occupies third place on the all-time leaderboard with 210 catches, followed by Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene with 205 and South Africa's Jacques Kallis with 200. Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting rounds out the top six with 196 catches. Root had established the prior record during a Test match against India at Lord's the previous year. Smith had earlier signaled his proficiency in the slips on Day 3 by claiming the wicket of South African captain Temba Bavuma from the bowling of spinner Nathan Lyon.
While Smith shone in the field, his performance with the bat during Australia's initial innings proved more modest. The veteran right-hander managed 25 runs from 53 deliveries, hitting two sixes after stepping to the crease following an early wicket for the touring side. He steadied the innings alongside Marnus Labuschagne through a 60-run partnership before paceman Marco Jansen cut his stay short shortly after the lunch interval on the opening day. Jansen used an angle from around the wicket to produce a delivery that straightened off the pitch, squaring up Smith and forcing an edge to Wiaan Mulder at gully.
That dismissal left Australia facing pressure before Matt Renshaw rescued the innings with a brilliant knock of 190, helping the visitors recover from 124 for six to reach a total of 390.
As Australia seeks to solidify its standing in the Durban encounter, Smith will aim for a stronger batting showing in the second innings. Having already cemented his name in the record books defensively, an impactful innings with the bat would further strengthen Australia's position in the match.