Smith becomes Australia's third-highest Test run-scorer, passing Steve Waugh, in Durban

A three-match Test series is under way between South Africa and Australia, with the first match being played in Durban. In this match, Steve Smith reached an important milestone for Australia and broke Steve Waugh's record.

Smith did not play a big innings in the match. He scored 25 runs off 53 balls. With this knock, he became the third-highest run-scorer for Australia in Test cricket. Only Ricky Ponting and Allan Border are now ahead of him on the list, and Smith has closed in on the records of both.

Ricky Ponting has the most Test runs for Australia, with 13,378. Allan Border is second with 11,174 runs. Smith is third with 10,945 runs. Steve Waugh, with 10,927 runs, has dropped to fourth, while David Warner is fifth with 8,786 runs.

Smith has performed consistently for Australia. In 223 innings across 125 Test matches, he has scored 37 centuries and 50 half-centuries. In ODIs, he has scored 5,800 runs in 170 matches, while in 67 T20 internationals he has 1,094 runs.

Among Test batters across the world, Smith is currently 12th on the list of highest run-scorers. The record for the most Test runs belongs to Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 15,921 runs in 200 matches. Joe Root is second with 14,278 runs in 169 matches. Ricky Ponting is third on this list. Former South Africa great Jacques Kallis is fourth with 13,289 runs in 166 matches, and Rahul Dravid is fifth with 13,288 runs in 164 Tests.

On the match itself: Australia won the toss and chose to bat first in the Durban Test. The team made a disappointing start. Opener Travis Head was dismissed for nine, while Nic Maddinson returned to the pavilion after facing 33 balls.

Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne then added 60 runs for the third wicket. However, Labuschagne was dismissed for 37 off the last ball of the first session. Smith also returned to the pavilion after scoring 25. Australia looked to be on the back foot in the first session.