Usman Khwaja once again played an astonishing knock against Pakistan on the first day of the third and final Test match of the series at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Khwaja notched up 91 runs in 219 deliveries, including 9 fours and 2 sixes to take Australia to 232-5 at stumps on day 1.
Pat Cummins won the toss earlier in the day and opted to bat first to put scoreboard pressure on the Pakistani batters.
Pakistan started on a better note with the ball than their counterparts, Kangaroos. Shaheen Shah Afridi, the Pakistani speedster, dismissed David Warner at a meagre score of 7 runs.
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On the other hand, Usman Khwaja was cool as a cucumber and did not let the dismissal of David Warner affect his run galore in the series.
Shaheen Shah Afridi continued wreaking havoc as he removed Marnus Labuschagne in his prime for a duck.
At 8-2, Australia looked extremely vulnerable and on the verge of a collapse. However, Steven Smith steadied the Australian inning with Usman Khwaja, and together the pair formed a 138 runs partnership for the third wicket.
Smith added another half-century to his illustrious Test career but again failed to capitalise on his start to convert the fifty into a big score.
Meanwhile, Usman Khwaja brought up his own personal milestone and added another half-century to his recent burst of form.
The partnership between Khwaja and Smith was broken by Naseem Shah, who got one to slide past Smith’s defences to hit his leg right in front of the wickets.
Smith managed 59 runs in his exciting stay at the crease. Khwaja then combined with Travis Head to form another significant partnership for Australia.
Unfortunately, Usman Khwaja got dismissed at 91 against Sajid Khan, to fell nine short of another hundred in the series.
Travis Head was the last one to be dismissed on the first day as Australia posted 232-5 in 88 overs with Alex Carey and Cameron Green on the crease.
