The 35-year-old, captaining the side in the absence of Pat Cummins, needed just one run in Galle to reach the milestone in Galle.

Steve Smith entered the contest in Sydney just 38 runs short of the landmark, but was left stranded on 9,999 at the end of the series after being bowled by Prasidh Krishna in Australia's second inning

Australia legend Adam Gilchrist marvelled at Steve Smith's transition from a leg-spin-bowling all-rounder to one of the nation's greatest batters.

GALLE: Australia's Steve Smith on Wednesday joined a small group of batters to reach 10,000 Test runs during the first day of the opening Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle

Steve Smith has become the 15th player in Test cricket, and fourth Australian, to score 10,000 runs in a career. Needing just one run, Smith brought up the milestone on his first delivery, skipping down the wicket and punching a single to mid-on, on the opening day of Australia's first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.

This is stand-in captain Steven Smith's advice to Australia's less-experienced batters, as he prepares to lead them in a two-Test series against Sri Lanka in Galle. Of Australia's batters on tour, Smith understands the challenge ahead more than most - he has two hundreds in Sri Lanka,

Steve Smith scored his 10,000th test run to put him in elite cricket company and Australia was 145-2 after winning the toss and batting Wednesday in the first test against Sri Lanka. Smith needed only one run Wednesday to achieve the milestone,

Australia stand-in captain Steven Smith advised his teammates, who hold minimal experience in the sub-continent to be "proactive" against Sri Lankan spinners in Galle. The challenge of playing in the subcontinent often revolves around whether the ball will spin or stay straight when it reaches the batter.