Australian opener Usman Khawaja ended his long wait for a Test century on Indian soil in the 4th Test at the famous Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad as he became the first Australian batter to score a century in the 2023 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Khawaja stitched crucial partnerships with Travis Head (32), Steven Smith (38) and Cameron Green (49*) on the opening day of the 4th Test match against India at Ahmedabad.
Speaking to Star Sports commentators Dinesh Karthik, Ravi Shastri and Matthew Hayden after the end of the day’s play in Ahmedabad, an emotional Khawaja reflected on his batting performance. “It was a lot of emotion in that. I have been to India on two tours before this, and carried the drinks in eight Test matches. It was such a nice wicket; I just didn’t want to give my wicket away. It was a mental battle more than anything. You need to put your ego away. I’ve got no superstitions… just run through, stretch,” Khawaja said.
Also read: IND vs AUS 4th Test: Usman Khawaja Gets 100, Australia Ends the Day on High
Cameron Green and Usman Khawaja stitched an 85-run partnership after Mohammed Shami clean bowled Peter Handscomb.
Australia, after the end of play on Day 1, is at 255/4 in 90 overs with Usman Khwaja and Cameron Green at 104*(251) and 49*(64) respectively.
After retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with two back-to-back wins over Australia, India suffered a defeat in the 3rd Test. Placed second on the World Test Championship points table, India can seal its spot in the WTC final with a win over Australia in the 4th Test. India can also enter the final with a draw only if Sri Lanka fail to whitewash New Zealand in the ongoing two-match Test series.