Steve Smith hits his 36th test century as Australia dominates Sri Lanka in 2nd test

GALLE, Sri Lanka (AP) — Steve Smith hit his 36th test century and shared an unbeaten 239-run partnership with Alex Carey as Australia powered to 330-3 at stumps on day two of the second cricket test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Friday.

With a lead of 73 runs and seven first-innings wickets in hand, the tourists are in control.

Smith anchored the innings with a sublime 120 not out off 239 balls, while Carey took the attack to Sri Lanka with a fluent 139 not out off 156. It was Smith's second ton of the series, while Carey notched up only his second test hundred in style.

Australia had slumped to 37-2 before Smith and Usman Khawaja (36) steadied the innings with a crucial 54-run stand for the third wicket. Khawaja, who got a double hundred in Australia's huge win in the first test of the two-match series, looked solid against spin. However, an ill-judged pull shot saw him trapped leg before wicket to off-spinner Nishan Peiris, (2-70 off 21 overs) cutting short his promising start.

Smith, too, took time to settle and had a nervy moment on 24, given out lbw before successfully overturning the decision on review. Once past that, he shifted gears and put the Sri Lankan bowlers under pressure.

Carey remained a picture of confidence, stroking elegant shots on both sides of the wicket. His sweeps were particularly effective, while Smith, in contrast, relied on his trademark pulls and drives.

Smith reached his century with a controlled pull to mid-wicket, while Carey brought up his ton with yet another assured sweep shot. Though Carey outscored Smith and looked the more fluent batter, Smith was ready to grind it out for the long haul.

Cricket great Sachin Tendulkar tops the most test tons list with 51. Smith moved into a three-way tie for fifth with England's Joe Root and India's Rahul Dravid.

“We know that Steve Smith is someone who has scored runs all over the world,” said Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis. “His numbers in Asia are unbelievable.”

Carey was pushed up to No. 5 as Josh Inglis was unable to bat, having spent time off the field unwell. The wicketkeeper-batter seized the opportunity, smashing 13 fours and two sixes in his knock, while Smith’s patient effort included nine boundaries and a six.

Earlier, Sri Lanka had been dismissed for 257 after opting to bat first, a total that looked below par on a decent surface. Kusal Mendis hit a fighting 85 not out.

With the new ball due in the morning, Sri Lanka’s bowlers will be fresh and desperate Saturday to make an early breakthrough.

“The new ball is around the corner and we need to nullify that and then go on and get as much as possible,” Carey said. “The quality of a player like Steve Smith is that he is a problem solver. He played some risky shots and executed them well.”

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Australia's Steven Smith and Alex Carey leave the ground at the end of day two of the second test cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia in Galle , Sri Lanka, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Australia's Alex Carey celebrates his century with Steven Smith during day two of the second test cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia in Galle , Sri Lanka, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis plays a shot during day two of the second test cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia in Galle , Sri Lanka, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis plays a shot during day two of the second test cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia in Galle , Sri Lanka, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Australia's Marnus Labuschagne, left, reacts as he was ruled out during day two of the second test cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia in Galle , Sri Lanka, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Australia's Travis Head leaves the ground after losing his wicket during day two of the second test cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia in Galle , Sri Lanka, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Australia's Steven Smith plays a shot during day two of the second test cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia in Galle , Sri Lanka, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's Nishan Peiris celebrates the wicket of Australia's Travis Head during day two of the second test cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia in Galle , Sri Lanka, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's Prabath Jayasuriya, right, and others appeal for the wicket of Australia's Steven Smith during day two of the second test cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia in Galle , Sri Lanka, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

FIFA President Gianni Infantino chose to start his week in the Middle East joining U.S President Donald Trump's state visits with their close ally the Saudi Arabian crown prince, then the Emir of Qatar.

The knock-on effect was felt Thursday when Infantino's late arrival on private jet flights from Qatar forced FIFA's annual meeting in Paraguay to start more than three hours late.

It led to a mid-meeting walkout in protest by senior officials from European soccer body UEFA at the “deeply regrettable” delay.

UEFA said in a statement "what appears to be simply to accommodate private political interests, does the game no service and appears to put its interests second.”

Infantino had picked real-world politics with past and future World Cup host nations over being on the other side of the globe with his 211 national federation members and voters. They had started arriving in Paraguay three days earlier.

The Qatar state-provided jet flying the FIFA boss from Doha, via Nigeria, meant he was still at high altitude over the Atlantic Ocean when his meeting had been due to start.

It also pushed some senior European officials on FIFA's ruling council, including UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin, to leave their main stage seats early.

“We are uniting the world today in Asunción,” Infantino said in closing remarks on the stage where about one-quarter of the seats had been empty for the previous 90 minutes.

For the second straight year, there was no post-Congress news conference to question Infantino.

Infantino had apologized to his audience several times when the meeting finally opened close to 1 p.m. local time (1600 GMT) instead of the originally scheduled 9:30 a.m.

He cited issues with his flight and insisted it was important he had been in the Middle East at “important discussions ... with some world leaders in politics and economy.”

“I felt like I had to be there to represent all of you, to represent football,” Infantino said. “As president of FIFA my responsibility is to make decisions in the interests of the organization."

Paraguay President Santiago Peña also was affected. He delivered an opening speech that FIFA typically invites the host head of state to make hours later than scheduled, though he still praised Infantino as “a personal friend and a friend of Paraguay.”

Peña previously said in January he took credit for suggesting to Infantino that FIFA bring a major event to Paraguay, which is set to host one of the 104 games at the men's World Cup in 2030 being mostly co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

Infantino opted to join President Trump on the first legs of the tour instead of meeting with his voting members. Qatar hosted the men’s World Cup in 2022, the U.S. will co-host with Canada and Mexico next year and Saudi Arabia will host in 2034.

On Wednesday in Doha, Qatar’s ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani — a fellow member of the International Olympic Committee with Infantino — hosted the visiting delegations at a state dinner at Lusail Palace.

Infantino has built close ties to both Trump administrations, and was inside the Capitol rotunda in January for the formal presidential inauguration ceremony.

Trump is set to present the trophy at the finals in MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey of both the Club World Cup in July and the World Cup next year. The Club World Cup trophy was in the Congress room Thursday. The gold trophy has spent much of the past weeks in the Oval Office at the White House.

With the meeting running so far late, some European delegates did not return to the hall after a mid-meeting coffee break.

Empty seats reserved for the 37-member FIFA Council chaired by Infantino included those of Ceferin and the other two FIFA vice presidents from Europe: Hungarian banker Sándor Csányi and Debbie Hewitt, the head of England's soccer federation. Officials from Germany, Norway and Romania also left.

Still on stage with Infantino was the most senior Paraguayan official in world soccer, Alejandro Dominguez, the FIFA vice president and head of South American soccer body CONMEBOL.

Paraguay being included in the 2030 World Cup project has been seen as a win in FIFA politics for Dominguez. The 100th birthday World Cup will see single games in the opening week in June 2030 also played in Argentina, the 2022 champion, and Uruguay, the inaugural 1930 host.

A recent CONMEBOL proposal to expand the 2030 tournament to 64 teams — double the size of the 2022 edition in Qatar, with more games in South America — has been opposed by leaders of other soccer regions, include Ceferin in Europe, Asia and North America.

Dominguez made a speech to the Congress that hinted at thinking bigger for 2030, without directly promoting the 64-team plan.

FIFA's congress in 2026 will be in Vancouver on April 30, six weeks before the city hosts its first game at the World Cup.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, right, talks to UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin during the FIFA 75th Congress at the Conmebol Convention Center in Luque, Paraguay, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Calistro)

Conmebol President Alejandro Dominguez, left, talks to FIFA President Gianni Infantino during FIFA's 75th Congress at the Conmebol Convention Center in Luque, Paraguay, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Calistro)

From left, Conmebol's President Alejandro Dominguez, Paraguay's President Santiago Pena, FIFA's President Gianni Infantino, and Paraguay's Soccer Association's President Robert Harrison stand before attendees of the FIFA 75th Congress at the Conmebol Convention Center in Luque, Paraguay, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Calistro)

FIFA President Gianni Infantino addresse the FIFA 75th Congress at the Conmebol Convention Center in Luque, Paraguay, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Calistro)

Guards stand at the entrance to the Conmebol Convention Center which is hosting the FIFA Congress in Luque, Paraguay, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Calistro)

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani signs a FIFA soccer ball as President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino look on, at the Lusail Palace, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Doha, Qatar, as they marked the passing of World Cup hosting duties from Qatar, which held it in 2022, to the United States, which is hosting in 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FIFA President Gianni Infantino gestures as he arrives for a state dinner hosted by Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in honor of President Donald Trump at Lusail Palace in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)