Steve Smith faster than Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Garry Sobers to 7000 Test runs

In another testament to the prolific run-getting of Steve Smith, the Australian right-hander has become the fastest man to score 7000 Test runs – both in terms of matches and innings played. Smith is playing his 70^th Test match. Before him, the record was held by Sir Garfield Sobers who reached the landmark in his 79^th Test.

Interestingly, the biggest reason why Smith has earned this distinction is that Sir Donald Bradman got out for a duck in his final Test innings and ended his career with 6996 Test runs.

Even in terms of innings taken to reach the landmark, Smith is the fastest. He has batted in 126 innings for scoring 7000 Test runs. He overtook English legend Wally Hammond who got to 7K runs in 131 innings. The person at the third position in the list is Virender Sehwag who took 134 innings while the legend Sachin Tendulkar reached the mark in his 136^th knock.

The person with whom Smith is most often compared – Indian captain Virat Kohli – is way behind his Australian rival. Kohli took 81 matches and 138 innings for scoring 7K runs.

What is most astonishing is the fact that Smith averages over 64 in Test cricket. No batsmen in modern-day Test cricket has been able to achieve an average of 60 over a long period of time. For the former Australian captain to be averaging 64+ is incredible.