Usman Khawaja hammers his 43rd century in First-Class cricket: Stats
What's the story
Usman Khawaja played a pivotal role in Queensland's Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania, scoring a century on the opening day.
The 38-year-old batsman's innings ended at 127 runs at Bellerive, putting Queensland in a strong position with a score of 309 for six from 95 overs.
This was his first Shield hundred since November last year and marked his 43rd First-Class ton.
Match details
Khawaja's resilience shines amid controversial decisions
Though Tasmania won the toss and threatened Queensland's top order, Khawaja's brilliance kept them afloat.
As per ESPNcricinfo, he survived a huge appeal for an edge off opening bowler Gabe Bell to keeper Jake Doran when he had just scored 11 runs.
The not out decision by Shawn Craig left the home side in disbelief.
Performance boost
Khawaja's century boosts form after challenging series
Khawaja's century came off 221 balls and included 12 fours and a six, further boosting his form after a challenging domestic Test series against India.
The Australian batsman had only one half-century in the Border-Gavaskar series but rebounded with his highest Test score of 232 in Sri Lanka in late January.
This performance solidified his spot ahead of the Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's in June and next summer's Ashes series.
Partnership
Khawaja and Hearne's partnership bolsters Queensland's innings
Khawaja and his teammate Lachlan Hearne built a solid partnership, adding 110 runs for the fourth wicket before Khawaja was caught by Beau Webster at second slip.
Hearne scored his highest first-class score of 74 but missed out on a century due to an unfortunate run-out.
Despite these setbacks, Queensland ended the day on a solid score of 309 for six.
Runs
Khawaja is closing in on 15,000 runs in FC cricket
Khawaja's 127 came from 221 balls with the help of 12 fours and a six.
He has raced to 14,943 runs in FC cricket at 45-plus. Playing his 214th match (370 innings), Khawaja now owns 43 tons and 71 fifties in the longest format.
Notably, 5,930 of his FC runs have come for Australia in Test cricket at 45.61 with the help of 16 tons and 27 fifties. He has appeared in 80 Tests.