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New Delhi: Steve Smiths strong performance in the first day of the World Test Championship 2025 final between Australia and South Africa at Lords Cricket Ground on June 11 solidified his place in Test cricket history. After South Africa elected to field Smith entered the crease in the eighth over. Rabada exploited the cloudy weather removing Khawaja (0) and Green (4) in the seventh over. Marco Jansen dismissed Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head early in the session. However Smiths 66-run innings off 111 balls kept Australias progress steady despite difficult playing conditions until Aiden Markram eventually bowled him out. Smith surpassed Warren Bardsleys 99-year-old record for the most runs scored by a non-English batter at Lords Cricket Ground. This is Smiths fifth fifty-plus score at the venue making him only the second overseas player after Shivnarine Chanderpaul to achieve this milestone. His previous notable performances at Lords include a double century in 2015 92 runs in 2019 and a century in 2023. Steve Smith holds the second-highest Test run total by a visiting batsman in England surpassed only by Don Bradman. He also surpassed Viv Richards record for most scores of 50 or more by a non-English batsman in England achieving 18 such scores compared to Richards 17. Smith surpassed Ajinkya Rahanes record achieving the unprecedented feat of scoring over 200 runs in the World Test Championship final. His performance built upon his previous century (121 runs) in the first innings of the 2023 final against India adding another 34 runs in the second innings to reach this milestone. In the World Test Championship final Steve Smith achieved a unique feat becoming the first player to score multiple fifties. Several other players also reached fifty runs including Rahnae Alex Carey Devon Conway Travis Head Shardul Thakur and Kane Williamson. Head is the only other player besides Smith to have scored a century in the match. Smiths recent performance places him second only to Virat Kohli in the number of 50+ scores in ICC knockout matches with seven compared to Kohlis ten. He also shares second place for most 50+ scores in ICC event finals tied with Adam Gilchrist and Virat Kohli at three. Kumar Sangakkara leads this category with four such scores.