I think it'd be pretty harsh: Khawaja hopes Cummins allows him to achieve the milestone
Khawaja is batting on 195 [Source: Associated Press]
Usman Khawaja reckons Australia will continue to bat on Day 4 of the Sydney Test against South Africa and says 'it would be pretty harsh' if skipper Pat Cummins deprives him of a golden chance to score his maiden Test double ton despite time running out for a win.
The Australia opener walked out to bat on Wednesday, and will again walk out to bat on Saturday after play was abandoned on Day 3 due to relentless rain.
With the home side in the driving seat - 475/4, Pat Cummins has a tough call to make. He can either let Khawaja bat for personal milestone, or can declare to put South Africa under testing conditions.
"I think it'd be pretty harsh if he bowled straight away. I don't think that'll happen. He's been making a few jokes... just walking around and saying ‘I’ve let Deano [Elgar] know that we want to go out and have a bowl straight away’. He’s been in the change room taking the mickey out of me," Khawaja said after the wash-out day on Friday.
He added: “We could go out there and get a few more runs really quickly or we could declare pretty much straight away. I’m not the captain ... I don’t make those decisions.”
Some showers are expected on Saturday as well. A win would seal Australia's spot in the WTC finals, but even Khawaja reckons that would be difficult to achieve, despite South Africa's batting woes.
 "Anurag Dasgupta")
