Patience is the virtue that has resulted in career-best form for Steve Smith.

Smith took 23 Test innings to reach his maiden century.

Now, he has five Test tons – four of them in his past 15 digs.

Since earning a Test recall on Australia’s woeful tour of India in 2013, Smith has cemented his spot in the side and enhanced his reputation as a future captain.

The 25-year-old scored an unbeaten 162 against India on Wednesday, his highest score at Test level.

Smith stopped short of calling it his best innings – preferring a ton against South Africa in Centurion earlier this year.

But he was happy to reflect on a career that has come on in leaps and bounds over the past year.

“I probably wasn’t quite as patient as I am now,” Smith said of his transformation.

“I tried to play too many shots early on and that got me in trouble.

“I know if I do that (be patient) then I’ll be able to make big runs and today’s a good example of that.

“Every hundred’s nice and hopefully I’ve got a few more this summer.”

Smith started carefully, but did open his shoulders after Michael Clarke brought up a 28th Test ton in the second over after tea.

He smacked seven boundaries in the next six overs.

Smith then offered India four chances, all of which were put down, as he started to get more funky with his footwork and shot selection.

“It’s always nice when you’re batting after scoring a 100. It’s probably the best time to bat,” he said.

“When the captain gives you a licence to try and get a few runs, you can start to invent a few shots.

“We said we wanted to get to 500 so it was about putting the accelerator on and trying to get a few boundaries away.”

Smith earned two man-of-the-match awards in the recent one-day series against South Africa, when he batted at No.4.

A shift up to second drop could also be on the cards in this Test series, depending on Clarke’s availability.

“I’m happy to bat wherever the skipper tells me,” Smith said.

“I like batting as high as possible.

“I’ll just keep batting and if I get a chance to move up the order, that will be great as well.”