Toughest SCG Pitch, Got Chainsawed: Steve Smith On Missing 10,000 Runs Milestone

Veteran Australian batter Steve Smith has said he had never encountered a wicket like the one at the SCG, after falling one run short of reaching 10,000 career runs in the five-match Test series against India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In Australia's first innings of the fifth Test here, Smith edged a delivery to slip just five runs shy of the landmark. In the second innings, Prasidh Krishna's delivery rose sharply from short of a length and Smith advanced down the pitch, only to fend it into the gully to be dismissed on 9999 Test runs. "I got chainsawed didn't I! Pretty nasty delivery actually; back of a length, I thought 'oh, there's one to punch through point' and it just took off," the former Australian captain told 'Triple M' after their six-wicket win on Sunday that gave them the trophy after a decade.

"It wasn't to be (reaching 10k Test runs), but that's alright we got the result we were after.

"Absolutely (toughest SCG pitch I've played on). By a mile. It was two-paced, up and down, seaming all over the place, swinging. I've never played on a wicket like that at the SCG before. It was incredibly difficult to bat.

Smith made 33 in the first innings and 4 in the second essay, failing to sign off on a high after notching two hundreds in the series.

"I love the game, it's been a fun series, India are an unbelievable team. There's been some great challenges, Bumrah in particular. It's been great fun and fortunate to get the result in the end," the 35-year-old added.

Left-arm quick Mitchell Starc highlighted that everyone had "worked our backsides off" to get to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, emphasising the collective effort of the squad, support staff, and families for the successful result.

"Five Test