Khawaja joins The Don with double hundred

ND Prashant
30 Jan 2025
17:15

38 years and 42 days — is now a magic number in Australian cricket as Usman Khawaja etched his name alongside the legendary Donald Bradman in Galle, Sri Lanka.

Grand Double: Usman Khawaja
Grand Double: Usman Khawaja

Khawaja has now become the second-oldest Australian batter to amass a double hundred, behind Don Bradman, who scored 234 at the age of 38 years and 108 days, and 201 at the age of 39 years and 149 days. Khawaja was 38 years and 42 days old on Thursday when he scored 232 off 352 balls on the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle.

Khawaja also became the third-oldest man with a double hundred since 2000, after Younis Khan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Khawaja is also the only Australian man to hit a double century in Sri Lanka. He had earlier overtaken Justin Langer's 166 in Colombo in 2004 as the highest score by an Australian in Sri Lanka.

Moreover, he became the first Australian to score a double hundred in Asia since Jason Gillespie's famous 201 not out against Bangladesh in 2006. The others to score a double century in Tests are Matthew Hayden (201 not out vs India in Chennai), Dean Jones (210 vs India in the 1986 Madras tied Test), Greg Chappell (235 v Pakistan in Faisalabad in 1980, and Mark Taylor (334no against Pakistan in Peshawar in 1998).

Australia eventually went on to declare their first innings at 654/6, propped up by Khawaja's 232, Steve Smith's 141 a 94-ball 102 by Josh Inglis, the second-fastest century in Test cricket.

The focus was on Khawaja as he scored a memorable double-hundred. Coming after a below-par series against India in the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series at home where he failed to score a single hundred and had only one fifty-plus score.

Khawaja said
It's been a tough summer - I had a lot of people telling me how I should go about my career and what I should do from here on in. But Andrew McDonald, even last year, said to me: 'I don't care what happens, just make sure you're on the Sri Lankan tour. I want you on the Sri Lankan tour.
Khawaja celebrates his achievement
Khawaja celebrates his achievement
Khawaja added
I'm not here for anyone but the team. I'm not just playing cricket because I've got a gluttony to score lots of runs. Century No. 16, 17, and 18 are not going to make a difference in my life. I'm going to finish this game, and I've got a beautiful family. I'll try to give back to the community as much as I can. Hopefully, I can score runs and contribute to the team.

In 10 innings of five Tests against India, Khawaja could manage only 184 runs. He has surpassed that score in one innings against Sri Lanka and it will turn out to be a big relief for Australia ahead of the World Test Championship Final in June in England.
With Travis Head back as opener, Khawaja's return to form augurs well for Australia.


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