India vs Australia: Usman Khawaja slams his 14th Test century
Australian opener Usman Khawaja has slammed his 14th century in Test cricket. The left-handed batter reached the three-figure mark on Day 1 of the 4th Test against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. Khawaja continues his exploits in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series, scoring his third 50+ score. He also displaced Indian captain Rohit Sharma as the leading run-scorer of the series.
A balanced knock by Khawaja
Khawaja started cautiously after Australia elected to bat in Ahmedabad. While his opening partner Travis Head came out all guns blazing, Khawaja remained watchful. He firmly held one end as Head and Marnus Labuschagne departed in quick succession. Khawaja shared a 79-run stand with Steven Smith through the second session. The former completed his century off 246 balls in the final session.
Khawaja attains these feats
As per Cricbuzz, Khawaja has become the first Australian left-handed batter to score a Test century in India in 12 Tests and 13 years. Marcus North was the last batter to do so (in Bengaluru in the 2010/11 series). Khawaja is also the first Australian opener to score a century against India in the format since 2015.
First Test ton against India
Khawaja has become the first Australian to score a century in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series. He is overall the second batter after Rohit to do so. Interestingly, the former has slammed his first Test ton against India. Khawaja now has 455 runs against India from eight Tests at an average of 35.00. His average improves to 42.83 in India.
Khawaja has over 4,000 Test runs
Earlier this year, Khawaja completed 4,000 runs in Test cricket. He became the 27th Aussie to achieve the milestone during the third and final game of the series versus South Africa. The left-handed batter, who made his Test debut in 2011, averages over 47 in the format. While Khawaja struck his 14th Test hundred in the Ahmedabad game, he also owns 21 fifties.
Sensational run in 2022
Khawaja, who was dropped following the Ashes 2019, made a surprise comeback in Australia's Test team in January last year. The southpaw justified the decision straightaway, smashing twin centuries in his comeback game versus England. He finished the year with 1,080 runs in 11 Tests at 67.50. The tally includes four tons and five fifties. 160 was his highest score.
