Usman Khawaja Ends 14-Year Drought With 16th Test Century Against Sri Lanka
Usman Khawaja [Source: @ICC/x]
Usman Khawaja belted a graceful century against Sri Lanka on Day 1 of the opening Test at the Galle International Stadium. Opening the innings with Travis Head, the two cricketers shared 92 runs from just 14.3 overs before the elegant left-handed employed a cautious approach during his 41-run partnership with number three Marnus Labuschagne.
The 38-year-old eventually reached the landmark figure shortly after the drinks break after steering Australia past the 200-run mark alongside Steve Smith.
Usman Khawaja tonks 16th Test ton after India horror
Usman Khawaja, who underwent a horrid Test series against Team India at home, returned back to his usual run-scoring ways by scoring a regal century against Sri Lanka on Day 1 of the series-opening Galle Test.
The innings marked Khawaja’s 16th Test match hundred, and his first in over a year-and-a-half ever since he plundered an Ashes ton in Birmingham back in June 2023. The innings also marked his maiden Test hundred in Sri Lanka, leaving out only South Africa and Bangladesh as the countries he has never scored a century in. Moreover, Usman Khawaja now has more away Test tons than former opener partner David Warner.
During the course of his batting masterclass against Sri Lanka, the 79-Test veteran belted eight boundaries and a six and raced to his century from just 135 balls.
It is worth noting that Khawaja only managed to conjure 184 runs during Australia’s recently-concluded five-match Test series against India at home. Scoring his runs at a dismal average of 20.44, the left-hander scored 57 of those runs in a single innings.
By the time of his century, Australia reached a commanding 236-2 from just 50 overs with a run rate of 4.72.