The fourth Test between India and Australia kicked off with a bang as the visitors won the toss and chose to bat first. Australian opener Usman Khawaja quickly made his presence felt, putting on a brilliant display of batting to notch up his 14th Test hundred.
Khawaja’s unbeaten knock of 104 included smashing a century in the last over of the day’s play, bringing his total number of Test tons to six since his return to the Australian setup in January 2022.
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But it wasn’t just his century that made headlines. Khawaja broke three significant records during his innings. Firstly, he became the first Australian left-hander to score a Test ton in India in 13 years, with Marcus North being the last to achieve this feat in Bangalore back in 2010.
Secondly, he broke the record held by Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara for the most half-centuries by an overseas batter in Tests in India since 2021. Khawaja already has three 50+ scores in the series, showing how well he has adapted to Indian conditions in his first-ever Test series in the country.
But perhaps the most impressive record he broke was becoming the opener with the highest batting average in Test history, with a stunning average of 68.38 following his century in Ahmedabad. This beats the previous record held by England’s Herbert Sutcliffe, who averaged 61.1 across 54 Tests as an opener.
Khawaja’s tranquil approach to the game was the perfect counterpoint to Cameron Green, who joined him with the score at 170/4. Green blazed 49 runs and found the boundary eight times to take the tourists’ score to 255/4 at Stumps on Day 1.
Overall, Usman Khawaja’s performance on Day 1 of the Ahmedabad Test was a masterclass in batting, breaking records and making history along the way. It remains to be seen if he will be able to maintain his average in upcoming Tests, including the much-anticipated Ashes against England.