Steve Smith’s SCG century guides Australia to best total of Test series against India, but work still to be done

Steve Smith is back in the runs in the third Test at the SCG, with a couple of late wickets backing up his drought-breaking century on day two against India.

The tourists are 2-96 in response to what was comfortably Australia’s best batting performance of the Test series.

Smith scored a sparkling 131 — his first Test century since the Ashes in 2019 and his first in Australia since the 2017 Boxing Day Test, before his ball-tampering ban.

The former captain’s return to form is welcome news for an Australian batting line-up that could not pass 200 until this Test, but Australia left runs on the table.

The hosts fell from 2-206 to 338 all out in their first innings as Marnus Labuschagne (91) fell painfully short of a ton and no batsman from…