Irrepressible Steve Smith Storms into the Record Books with 4th Ton vs. India

So dominant has Steve Smith been in this series against India, that, during his pre-match press conference ahead of this fourth Test in Sydney, he was asked how he might celebrate another hundred.

Though not directly said, the message was clear: It has reached the point where we simply expect you to hit three figures. 

Smith, playing at his home ground and at the site of where Phillip Hughes was tragically struck in November, didn't disappoint, striking another century in a sparkling display that saw him storm into the records books on Wednesday with his fourth hundred in as many Tests. 

After compiling scores of 162 not out, 133 and 192 in the first innings of each of the opening three Tests in Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne, the stand-in Australian captain cruised to 117 across the opening two days of this fourth Test at the SCG. 

In doing so, the 25-year-old elevated himself into rarefied air, becoming just the third player to score centuries in four consecutive Tests in the same series—a feat that's only ever been matched in the history of the game by the great Sir Donald Bradman and South African star Jacques Kallis. 

Player	Year	Opponent
Sir Donald Bradman	1931-32	South Africa
Jacques Kallis	2003-04	West Indies
Steve Smith	2014-15	India

Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Smith, in this staggering run of form, also joined Bradman, Jack Fingleton, Neil Harvey and Matthew Hayden as the only Australians to have ever scored centuries in four consecutive Tests. 

Bradman achieved the feat three times during his unparalleled Test career, Hayden did it twice, while Smith stands next to Fingleton and Harvey having achieved it once. 

Based on current form, you wouldn't bet against Smith doing it again. 

Player	Years	Opponent(s)
Sir Donald Bradman	1929-30, 1931-32, 1937-38	England and South Africa and England
Jack Fingleton	1936-37	South Africa and England
Neil Harvey	1949-50	South Africa
Matthew Hayden	2001-02, 2005-06	South Africa and England, World XI, West Indies
Steve Smith	2014-15	India

Impressively, Smith looks set to break a number of other records in this fourth Test at the SCG in Sydney, given that he still potentially has one innings to play against India. 

Currently, the man standing in for Michael Clarke as captain, sits on 698 runs for the series, meaning he needs just 15 runs to pass Kallis for the highest number of runs in any four-match Test series in history. 

Player	Runs	Ave	Year	Opp
Jacques Kallis	712	178.00	2003-04	West Indies
Ricky Ponting	706	100.85	2003-04	India
Steve Smith	698*	139.60	2014-15	India

Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Additionally, Smith is closing in on Bradman's record for most runs in a Test series by an Australian against India.

In 1947-48, the extraordinarily prolific Australian struck 715 runs in five Tests in the home series against the Indians, which leaves Smith with just 18 runs to get in the second innings at the SCG to set a new benchmark.  

Player	Runs	Year
Sir Donald Bradman	715	1947-48
Ricky Ponting	706	2003-04
Steve Smith	698*	2014-15

What's more remarkable is that Smith is storming his way to record after record while getting his first taste of the additional responsibilities of captaincy at the international level. 

Indeed, when Clarke withdrew from the remainder of the series after suffering from injury in the opening Test in Adelaide, many wondered how Australia would fill the void left by the captain, both in terms of leadership and his place in the middle order. 

But Smith has answered that emphatically. 

With hundreds in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, the stand-in leader has become the first Australian to score centuries in each of his first three Tests as captain. 

Player	Inns	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50
Steve Smith	5*	484*	192	96.80	3	0
Sir Donald Bradman	6	403	270	67.17	1	1
Greg Chappell	5	340	123	85.00	2	1
Steve Waugh	6	333	199	55.50	2	0
Bill Lawry	6	324	81	54.00	0	4

Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

All of this has come from a player who was regarded as a weak link in the Australian side as recently as the 2013 Ashes contest in England.

But since the final Test of that series at The Oval—the match in which he made his maiden Test hundred—the New South Welshman has enjoyed a run of sparkling form that has seen him strike eight centuries in less than 18 months against England, South Africa and India. 

And Smith has also raced to his runs when it's counted, reaching all of his three-figure scores in the first innings. 

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50
Overall	15	27	5	1613	192	73.31	8	4
In 1st Innings	15	15	2	1279	192	98.38	8	1

He's breaking records at a furious pace. Throughout the remainder of this Test, more might be yet to come. 

Once derided for his idiosyncratic technique, Smith is now one of the finest batsmen in the game. 

Follow @TimDCollins