Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja has said that he wasn’t in good shape on the first day of the 3rd Test against Pakistan in Lahore. The stylish left-hander acknowledged that scoring 91 on a stiflingly hot day was very satisfying.
With Steve Smith (59), Khawaja supported restoring order to the Australian innings after David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne perished cheaply. The pair added 138 runs to save the tourists from a precarious 8-2 after skipper Pat Cummins had won the toss and opted to take the first strike.
Although, Pakistan edged ahead by picking up 3-scalps in the day’s final session.
Babar, oh Babar!
Phenomenal effort by the skipper and @SajidKhan244 gets the prize. #BoysReadyHain l #PAKvAUS pic.twitter.com/Nzfye4YxTe— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) March 21, 2022
After the day’s performance, the 35-year-old Khawaja told that he had to take medication between breaks, as he felt sick. The veteran, still, kept himself going for as long as he could. He was mentioned as saying by Perth Now in this regard:
“I was a little bit sick. I got some medication from the doc in between breaks. I wasn’t feeling well at all. There were a lot of mind games in between.”
Khawaja added:
“I just told myself, ‘just keep going, go as long as you can, just keep pushing through. And to push through for five hours – I felt absolutely horrible at the end of the day. I could have easily just gone harder and played a big shot and got out on 20 or 30. So for me to get 90 on the day with the heat, I’m actually really happy with it.”
The left-hander returned 9-short of a 2nd hundred on the tour when Babar Azam took a one-handed catch at slip off Sajid Khan to dismiss him. Khawaja scores 97 in the first Test in Rawalpindi before marking a hundred in the 2nd game in Karachi.
“I find it so funny we’re explaining Steve Smith not scoring 100s”, – Usman Khawaja said
Khawaja also spoke about his teammate Steve Smith missing out on a lot, saying the former Australian skipper still delivers useful knocks. He remains optimistic in the 32-year old’s talent to start putting up big scores again, added:
“I’m sure he’s frustrated in some respects. He is, in my opinion, the greatest batsman I’ve seen in my era, averaging 60 pretty much his whole Test career. I’m still in awe in how many runs he’s scored over a long period of time.”
He added:
“I find it so funny we’re talking about Steve Smith not scoring 100s; he seems to be getting 70, 80 … and doing it very easily. That’s just the class Steve Smith has. I’m sure once he gets a big score, more big scores will come. The fact he’s getting those 60s, 70s, he’s looking really good with the bat.”
Green and Carey withstood some fired up Pakistan quicks following Khawaja's excellent 91 #PAKvAUS | @ARamseyCricket
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) March 21, 2022
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