Steve Smith in action against England in the Ashes 2017-18 series | Photo Credit: AP

New Delhi: It is his favourite form of the game and Steve Smith won't script a record or breach a milestone? Not happening. Aussie skipper, on Saturday, strolled past the 10,000-run mark in international cricket on the third day of the opening Test between South Africa and Australia in Durban. With the milestone, Smith notched up two records. Not only is he the fastest Australian batsman to achieve the mark, but is also the third among 80 batsmen that breached the mark to have an average of over 50. (READ: Steve Smith announced as Rajasthan Royals skipper for IPL 2018)

With his score of 38 runs in 81 deliveries, Smith overhauled former Aussie opener Mathew Hayden to become the quickest to Australian to complete 10000 runs in International cricket. He reached the mark in his 232nd innings, while the southpaw had taken 239 innings. Overall, Windies legend Vivian Richards is the fastest to achieve the milestone, amassing the total in 206 innings, followed by South African opener Hashim Amla (217 innings). Smith stands sixth on the list alongside Indian skipper Kohli, with both notching up the mark in 232 innings. (HAVE A LOOK: Steve Smith more controlled than Virat Kohli, reckons Steve Waugh)

In total 80 batsmen have crossed the 10000 international run mark, and only three of them average over 50 combining all three formats of the game. Kohli is leading the chart with 17,125 runs from 365 innings at an average of 55.60, followed by Joe Root, who has 10,770 runs from 241 innings at an average of 50.80.

Smith has 6,151 runs in 113 Tests innings, 3,431 runs in 94 ODI innings and 431 in 25 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) innings.

Smith, who had notched up a half-century in the first innings of the opener, aimed for an even bigger score, but was left bamboozled by Dean Elgar. Trapped between the legs, Smith opted for a review and the decision didn't change as the skipper departed for a score of 38 runs.

Australia have a splendid record against South Africa on Proteas soil. In 15 Test series played in the Rainbow Nation between the two sides, the hosts have won just twice.

"The conditions are similar but it's still an away tour for us. I've got a goal as captain to play really well away from home and start winning series, so this is a really good opportunity for us," Smith had said.