Australia opener Usman Khawaja on Thursday struck his first Test century in India as the tourists dominated the opening day of the ongoing fourth match and final Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia reached 255 for 4 at stumps after they won the toss and elected to bat in their bid to square the series at the world’s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad. While Khawaja was the centre of attention for his sensational century, another incident involving KS Bharat and Virat Kohli also put him in the news.
On the second ball of the 71st over, Khawaja ducked a bouncer delivery bowled by Mohammed Shami. KS Bharat collected the ball behind the stumps and then threw it towards the bowler, but the ball met Khawaja in between and struck the player on his body.
Fielding at slips during that moment, Virat Kohli looked a little annoyed at Bharat for his action and the wicketkeeper quickly went to the Australian batter to apologise for his mistake. In the video, the exact moment can be seen at 1 min, 20 seconds.
Watch it here:
— MAHARAJ JI (@MAHARAJ96620593) March 9, 2023
After a long grind, Khawaja was batting on 104 alongside Cameron Green, on 49, at the close of play as the pair put together an attacking stand of 85.
The left-handed Khawaja put on key stands including a 79-run third-wicket partnership with skipper Steve Smith, who made 38, to hand Australia a strong start.
The Pakistan-born Khawaja jumped up in joy after he raised the second hundred of a low-scoring series with a boundary in the final over of the day.
“A lot of emotion in that. I have been to India two tours before this and carried the drinks for eight Test matches, so it was a long journey to finally hit a hundred in India,” Khawaja told broadcaster Star Sports.
“As an Australian, that’s what you want to tick off, so it’s very special.”
(With AFP Inputs)
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