Over the course of his long career with Australia, Usman Khawaja has played some memorable Test knocks displaying his resilience on the pitch and impeccable temperament. Another feather in his cap was added on the first day of the opening Test against Sri Lanka as he stood his ground and played a fine innings to score another century in his illustrious career, his 16th in Test cricket and maiden on Sri Lankan soil.
Usman Khawaja’s remarkable knock against Sri Lanka
The 38-year-old, who is on his 4th tour to Sri Lanka, played with a fine resolve and supported Travis Head to open the Australian innings after the visitors won the toss and decided to bat first. Khawaja stood his ground from the other end and allowed Head to take charge with his explosive batting against Sri Lanka to play a 57-run knock off just 40 balls.
After Head’s dismissal, and the early departure of Marnus Labuschagne, Khawaja took it upon himself to carry the Australian innings forward and made sure that Australia’s batting onslaught continued against the home side. Along with Australian skipper Steve Smith, Khawaja added valuable runs to the visitor’s 1st innings total. His century came in the 49th over of the day when a full-length ball from Asitha Fernando was flicked by Khawaja on the leg side for a boundary bringing his well-deserved century.
Also Read: 4 Australian batters with 10,000 plus runs in Test cricket ft. Steve Smith
A look at Khawaja’s coveted Test career
Khawaja has established himself as a highly consistent and accomplished figure in Test cricket during his 14-year long Test career. In 79 matches, Khawaja has amassed 5,748 runs at an impressive average of 44.90. The key highlight of his Test career is an unbeaten 195-run knock against South Africa in Sydney which highlighted his ability to build long, resilient innings. Over the course of his career, Khawaja has scored 2 centuries in Pakistan and 1 century each in England, New Zealand, UAE, and India. The 38-year-old has scored his most tons on home soil with 9 centuries to his name in Australia.
Here’s how Fans reacted:
USMAN KHAWAJA – A CHAMPION IN TEST CRICKET IN THIS GENERATION 🙇pic.twitter.com/2JHtwz9xt6
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 29, 2025
Another feather in the cap for the “Usman Khawaja can play spin” campaign. Probably one of @Uz_Khawaja’s more dominant Test hundreds in the subcontinent #SLvAus
— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) January 29, 2025
Australian cricketers to score Test 100s in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka…!!!
– Allan Border
– Usman Khawaja pic.twitter.com/b1HmpYwi4g— Nawaz 🇵🇰 (@Rnawaz31888) January 29, 2025
100 for @Uz_Khawaja 🥹🫶 #SLvAUS pic.twitter.com/7ASalJGZZw
— Ruby (@RubyMJx) January 29, 2025
– 9 Hundreds in Australia.
– 2 Hundreds in Pakistan.
– 1 Hundred in England.
– 1 Hundred in India.
– 1 Hundred in New Zealand.
– 1 Hundred in UAE.
– 1 Hundred in Sri Lanka*.USMAN KHAWAJA – ONE OF THE FINEST OPENERS IN MODERN ERA. 👌 pic.twitter.com/3e7dM17n6r
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 29, 2025
Usman Khawaja is the first man you wanna trust for a test match on Asian shores. The best since Hayden! pic.twitter.com/TGuFWZ2osx
— Cric Bug (@Smithian_here) January 29, 2025
Usman Khawaja in Tests since 2022
Inns: 65
Runs: 2865*
Avg: 50.26
100s: 8
50s: 13Only Joe Root has scored more runs than him during this phase. 🤯pic.twitter.com/krtCLkL33D
— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) January 29, 2025
This is Usman Khawaja’s first ton in 17 Tests, and boy, look what it means to him!#SLvAUS pic.twitter.com/VSrdnXwKZO
— ThePoppingCrease (@PoppingCreaseSA) January 29, 2025
16TH TEST CENTURY FOR USMAN KHAWAJA – A TERRIFIC KNOCK. 💯pic.twitter.com/H2jliMrAVy
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) January 29, 2025
1️⃣6️⃣th Test hundred for Usman Khawaja 💯#Cricket #UsmanKhawaja #SLvAUS pic.twitter.com/wYYk5kOSu3
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) January 29, 2025
Also Read: SL vs AUS: Here’s why Steve Smith raised his bat after scoring his first run in the opening Test against Sri Lanka
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