Sydney [Australia], January 5 : Prasidh Krishna stole Steven Smith's moment of glory by denying one of the modern-day greats the chance to reach the 10,000-run landmark in Test cricket on Day 3 of the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series on Sunday.
The stage was set for Smith to walk up in front of a jam-packed crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground. After a fiery start by young Sam Konstas, Australia had to resort to caution while chasing 162.
Once the young prodigy fell, India saw an opportunity to make a comeback by applying pressure, with Prasidh Krishna taking center stage on Sydney's tricky surface.
Filled with cracks and covered by grass, the pitch suited Prasidh, who found the formula for success against the established Australian duo of Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith.
After forcing an outside edge from Labuschagne, Prasidh ran rampant in Sydney. With Smith standing just one run short of reaching the 10,000 Test runs milestone, Prasidh spoiled the moment for the local hero.
In front of his home crowd, Smith stood one shot away from celebrating a massive milestone in his career. However, Prasidh extracted extra bounce from the surface and forced Smith to commit to the shot.
Smith looked helpless while trying to fend off the rising delivery, eventually slicing it to Yashasvi Jaiswal, who dived from the third slip to take a stunning catch.
Jaiswal broke off in a sprint to celebrate, while Prasidh punched the air in jubilation over the crucial wicket. The crowd went bonkers as Smith had to wait for another day to complete 10,000 Test runs. With the SCG and Indian team experiencing euphoria, Smith returned to the dressing room with a score of 4 (9).
This was the second time Prasidh had dismissed Smith in the match. In the first innings, Prasidh had also claimed Smith's prized wicket.
Earlier, before the stroke of lunch, India managed to add just 16 runs to their overnight score, courtesy of Scott Boland and Pat Cummins' fiery pace.
Although Jasprit Bumrah was absent from India's pace attack, Prasidh lifted spirits by striking thrice in the opening session.