The 36-year-old made 110 during the second Test at Lord’s in June last year, but had not reached triple figures in 24 innings since. He was Australia’s greatest since Don Bradman, but his time was up.

And for much of Sunday, all these dire predictions seemed spot on. He was playing and missing, he was getting hit on the body, the shots weren’t flowing and neither were the runs. But he didn’t give it away. Genius, after all, is perseverance in disguise.

There was an over from Akash Deep in which he was beaten four times. Jasprit Bumrah was troubling him and so was Mohammed Siraj. It was the kind of innings that great players sometimes need; one where luck is as important as skill. It led to a gritty century.

“I feel like I’ve been batting well the last month,” said Smith. “You know, it was kind of, yeah, just sticking to my processes, trusting that it’ll turn around.

“You know, you need a bit of luck, I think, on these surfaces we’re playing on at the moment. And I think I got a bit of luck early on and, yeah, I guess made the most of it.”

Smith making the most of it was trouble for India. It was only towards the end of his 101-run knock that some fluency of old started to re-emerge. It was a scratchy knock no doubt, but runs on the board matter — to the team and the individual.

According to CricViz, Smith had 20 plays and misses – his second most in any home Test innings (after 24 v England, Adelaide, 2021) – and 16.2% false shots in his innings were also his second most in any Test innings where he has scored a century (after 23.7% v India, Pune, 2017).

And the changes? Well, Smith isn’t every genius. He is a tinkerer at heart.

“I’ve changed my setup pretty much every game I’ve played for the last 15 years. So, it’s nothing new to me,” said Smith. “I kind of try and adapt and figure the best way to play for each surface that I’m facing. This one is a pretty bouncy track, so I was batting out of my crease a little bit, trying to get at the bowler, going across my stance, but leaving my left leg a little bit open.

“Perhaps I’ve been, when I’ve been doing my double trigger, getting my left leg a little bit too closed. And those balls that are skidding, I’ve probably struggled to get my bat down in time. So, I thought my movements were pretty good today.”

The frustration of not getting a century for a long time was there but Smith knew better than letting it get to him. Akash Deep induced false shots to 28% of the deliveries he bowled to the former Australia captain (he still averages 56.09 in Tests). Bumrah got 26% false shots and Siraj 18%. How he survived all of this is a mystery, but when it is your day everything just falls into place.

“I’ve played long enough to know that the game sort of turns on itself,” Smith explained. “If you go through a period where you’re not having much luck, you know, you’ve got to keep the faith and know that things will turn around if you keep doing the hard work. And I’ve been putting the hard work in.”

And in that perhaps is a lesson for all players. The only thing you can control is the work that you put in. We see that with Smith. We see that with Virat Kohli. The need to excel but the sense to not get side-tracked.

Then again, the day was also an ode to Test cricket. Only in this form of cricket will you get to see an all-time great struggle before eventually finding his way. It allows someone to fight back; to find a new way and sometimes that alone is worth the price of admission.