IND vs AUS: Usman ki baat in Motera!

Usman Khawaja celebrates his ton v India at Ahmedabad yesterday. Pic/Getty Images

Normal services restored. That's what can be said about the first day's play at the Narendra Modi Stadium here. After the bloodbaths in the first three Test matches, each of which barely lasted two and a half days, a semblance of normalcy was seen in Test cricket. The way the Australians batted gives rise to hope that a match in this series may finally go into the fourth day.

Much of the credit goes to opener Usman Khawaja, who stonewalled the Indian bowling with solid defence. He was the only batsman who looked assured be it on the front or back foot. Most of the batsmen who perished on Thursday were caught on the back foot, but Khawaja was so confident that getting him out looked nigh-impossible. He took all of 90 overs to get to his 14th Test century, his first against India.

"I have been to India on two tours before this and carried the drinks in eight Test matches. Finally, we got a good strip and it was such a nice wicket. I just didn't want to give my wicket away," he said.

‘Need to put your ego away'

On batting in hot conditions, he said: "It was a mental battle more than anything." And on taking the whole day to get to the three figures? "You need to put your ego away in Indian conditions and not bother about the strike rate."

It's not without reason that the Pakistan-born Khawaja is the highest run-getter for the Australians on this tour. Ever since his return to Test cricket in 2022 - after almost three years - he has been in tremendous form. In his return match, he scored centuries in both innings at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) against England.

Many former cricket stars hailed it as a great comeback. "Absolutely fantastic by@Uz_Khawaja! Take a bow. Back-to-back 100's is just outstanding & is now undroppable. Also, I know I've been pumping up Cam [Cameron] Green all summer - but what a superstar he is going to be. Australia are v lucky to have him! He will dominate world cricket," the late Shane Warne tweeted then.

Former West Indies quick and now commentator Ian Bishop hailed his effort as a comeback for the ages. "Put in the work,,,Stay ready,,,,seize your opportunity;;::: Usman Khawaja life lessons. Comeback for the ages!!!!," Bishop tweeted. And during the tough tour of Pakistan in March 2022, he got hundreds in Karachi and Lahore in tough conditions. A couple of years earlier, against the same opponents, he struck a Test century in Dubai.

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Having tackled the Pakistan bowlers with confidence, it was a given that Khawaja would be the mainstay of the batting on Indian pitches during the current series. And so it has proved! After failing in both innings at Nagpur, he hit back with a fighting knock of 81 at Delhi and a 60 on a rank turner in Indore.

Khawaja was not the one to miss out on the best pitch of the series here and made the most of the chances he got by batting with tremendous patience, waiting for the right ball to attack. It is largely due to his effort that Australia have had their best outing as a batting unit this series.

Both ODI centuries in India

Kawaja's love for the sub-continental conditions can be gauged by the fact that both his ODI centuries have come in India. During the 2019 series, he struck 109 at Ranchi and an exact hundred at Delhi. It is indeed surprising that barring these two centuries, he has no other ton in the other 38 ODI games he has played, be it in Australia or outside.

Similarly, 10 of his 14 Test centuries have come in Australia and New Zealand and of the other three, one each in Dubai and India and two in Pakistan. By the way, his highest Test score is an unbeaten 195 against South Africa at the SCG in January this year and he would surely have his eye on that elusive double century on the morrow.