Pakistan v Australia: Usman Khawaja brings up historic first Test century in country of his birth
Centuries are proving elusive for Aussie batsmen - all except Usman Khawaja - who, despite being stuck in the 80s like a bad radio station, impressed on day one of the second Test against Pakistan.
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Usman Khawaja’s century in the city he calls “the home of the Khawajas” was as emotional as his hundreds on recall to Test cricket at the SCG this summer and one that required all of his energy, skill, concentration and control.
The opener’s 11th Test century helped Australia to a strong position on the first day as he and Steve Smith dug in deep and endured in difficult conditions.
Khawaja was, like a bad radio station, stuck in the 80s for what seemed like an eternity after posting a crisp 50 before lunch.
The ball started to reverse and keep low as the day advanced and runs were hard to come by, but they will be worth much more if the wicket continues to deteriorate as expected.
The Pakistan-born and NSW-nurtured Queensland captain got his first 50 off 69 balls, but once he approached 80 the going got painfully slow.
It was on his 193rd delivery halfway into the last session that he tucked a ball around the corner, ran through to the university end and brought up the three figures.
Khawaja’s modest celebration was sure indication of the effort he’d put into achieving the milestone.
Australia is in a strong position at stumps with the score 3-251 at the National Stadium, Karachi.
Khawaja finished the first day satisfied with the 127 runs and will get to greet day two with a song in his heart knowing he gets to start again.
Smith, however, will drag his weary body to the cot cursing an error that saw him dismissed by the second new ball when there were seven deliveries left in the day.
The pair had put on 159 across three sessions but the partnership was broken just when it seemed they would both get to start again on day two.
The former skipper was brilliantly caught by Faheem Ashraf in the slips on 72 (214b) but credit goes to Hasan Ali who dug deep with the second new ball.
The Pakistan pace attack had toiled long and hard, but the local seamer found something in the bottom of the tank and was duly rewarded.
It was a blow for Australia, but it could have been worse with night watchman Nathan Lyon dropped at short leg off Shaheen Shah Afridi on the last delivery.
Pat Cummins said before the first Test that the batters had to be willing to cash in when the opportunity was there but also dig deep and apply themselves when it became difficult to score.
That is exactly what Khawaja did, playing an innings of two halves, adjusting to the tempo of the game and the conditions as they changed.
The languid opener absorbs and applies pressure in equal measure, playing to all parts of the ground and passing 50 for the fourth time in the six innings since his recall to Test cricket in the back half of the Ashes.
Khawaja scored a pair of centuries in his first match back, impressing in front of his former home crowd at the SCG and then fell just three runs short of another hundred in Rawalpindi in the first Test of the series.
An attempted quick single, a direct hit and a batsman short of his ground threatened to spoil Australia’s positive start to the second Test.
Eager to get off the mark, Marnus Labuschagne took on Sajid Khan and was ruled centimetres short after the mid-off threw down the stumps nine balls into his innings.
It was an unnecessary risk and it set the side back on its heels after a good start from David Warner and Khawaja.
The opening pair have not gone big yet, but big enough to suggest that Australia have an opening partnership it can bank on.
Warner left runs out there, edging Faheem Ashraf to slip when he was 38, but by that stage Australia had 82 runs on the board and an important foundation to build from.
The pair put on 166 in the drawn first Test of the Benaud-Qadir trophy.
While their cricket relationship dates back to the same junior club over two decades before and a string of representative teams through the years, they’ve only opened on five occasions.
If only they weren’t both 35, but it has to be said that in the twilight of his career Khawaja is in the form of his life.
Warner is not quite as pugnacious and has taken a back seat to his childhood friend from local cricket days, but there is a maturity and a confidence to their approach.
Both took on the Pakistan bowlers when the ball was hard and the wicket true, making the most of the transient conditions after Pat Cummins won the toss.
Khawaja saw off Hasan Ali with a pair of boundaries in the recalled seamer’s fourth over. The first a dismissive flick off the pads, the second a decisive clip through square all the way to the long boundaries at Karachi’s National Stadium.
Both rocked back and pulled Ashraf with confidence and hit the spinner Sajid Khan back over his head with impunity.
Earlier Khawaja presented Mitchell Swepson with his baggy green, the spinner becoming the 464th player to make the Australian Test side.
Pakistan brought Hasan Ali back for Naeem Shah and Ashraf for Iftikhar Ahmed.
Karachi’s National Stadium is a vast ground to the south west of the city’s harbour. The wicket traditionally spins more than most and the 12 pitches either side of the one in use are essentially arid and abrasive so reverse swing could come into play.
Cummins and the Australian camp were relieved to win the toss and make the most of the early conditions.
“Looks like a really good wicket,” he said before play. “Mitch (Swepson) has been around the squad for many years now. We're pumped for him. Our job now is to bat big.”
Pakistan captain Babar Azam said he expected the wicket to spin.
“Faheem and Hasan Ali are in to replace Iftikhar Ahmed and Naseem Shah. Definitely a typical Karachi pitch Later on it will help the spinners.“
Originally published as Pakistan v Australia: Usman Khawaja brings up historic first Test century in country of his birth
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