New Delhi, Jan 14 Australian veteran batter Steve Smith revealed that the pressure of reaching the 10,000-run milestone weighed heavily on him during the SCG Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India.
Smith was needed to score just 38 runs across both innings to become the fourth Australian to reach the landmark, joining the ranks of Ricky Ponting, Allan Border, and Steve Waugh. However, he fell short of a run in reaching the milestone as he scored 33 and 4 in the two innings.
Smith admitted that while he generally avoids focusing on statistical achievements, the significance of 10,000 runs made it a different challenge, and it even affected his sleep leading up to the match.
“I don't read too much into stats and stuff, but, 10,000 is a bit of a different beast. It probably was (on my mind), to be honest. Normally I sort of don't buy into any of that stuff, but pre-game, I was doing lots of media because I was approaching that mark," Smith told SEN 1170 Breakfast.
"I knew I needed 38, and all I could actually picture trying to sleep at night was the back of Josh Hazlewood's shirt because he's number 38 (laughs). It’s strange like that, isn't it?
"It was probably playing on my mind more than any other game that I've played, to be honest. But, it is what it is, fortunately, we were able to win that game in the end, so it didn't really matter," he said.
Now Smith is almost certain to reach the mark in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle which begins on January 29.
"It's pretty special. I’d love to tick it off on the first day in Galle. It would have been great to have been able to do it in Sydney in front of all my friends and family because you’re joining a pretty elite group there I suppose, but it wasn’t to be.
"As a kid, I never would have dreamt of that. I dreamt of playing cricket for Australia and have a career playing for Australia, but to have been able to get to this mark, it's a dream come true in a way," he added.
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