Veteran Australian opener Usman Khawaja scripted history on Thursday. The left-hander brought up his maiden Test double century on day two of the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. This was also the first ever Test double ton by an Australian batter on Sri Lankan soil.
The 38-year-old had endured a tough time with the bat during the recent series against India. Khawaja though chose the right moment to show his class as he got to his ton on Wednesday from 135 balls with the help of eight boundaries and a six. After early stumps on day one, the batter was not out on 147, with skipper Smith batting on 104.
Once play resumed on Thursday, Khwaja reached his 150 from mere 223 balls. Sri Lankan bowlers looked lost for ideas as they couldn’t dislodge the veteran batter. Steve Smith was dismissed for 141 when he was out LBW to Jeffrey Vandersay in the fifth ball of the 100th over. The Australian skipper scored his runs off 252 balls with 12 fours and two sixes.
Australia continue to dominate against Sri Lanka in Galle
Debutant Josh Inglis came out to bat and didn’t let the intensity die down as he attacked the opposition bowlers. Khawaja, on the other hand, kept employing sweeps and reverse sweeps to keep the scoreboard ticking. The 38-year-old was on 192 when he scored a boundary to move past his previous best score of 195.
The magical moment arrived in the first ball of the 111th over when Khawaja played a crisp shot and took off for a single. Once he reached the double ton, Australia’s veteran opener was quick to take off his helmet and thank his stars. Inglis gave his senior partner a huge hug and congratulated the batter for his efforts.
Khawaja reached his double ton after facing 290 balls with the help of 16 fours and a solitary six. At lunch on day two, the visitors were placed at 475/3 from 114 overs, with Khawaja batting on 204 off 298 balls and Inglis batting on 44 from 46 balls with five hits to the fence. The best bowler for the hosts was Jeffrey Vandersay, who picked 2 wickets from 28 overs for 131 runs.