Sydney [Australia], January 5 : Australia captain Pat Cummins has praised opener Usman Khawaja for his resilient performances during the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, despite not always getting the runs he would have liked.
In the post-match press conference, Cummins spoke highly of the challenges Khawaja faced, acknowledging the difficulty of opening the batting on challenging pitches against top-tier bowling attacks.
"It literally doesn't get any harder than opening the batting on these pitches against a quality bowling attack. It's the hardest job in cricket and I thought he looked really good at times. Sometimes he got some really good balls," Cummins said.
"I think, you know, he looks like he's batting as well as, you know, any other time, so probably overall didn't get the runs he would have liked, but you get innings like today where he just shows his maturity and experience is so valuable," he added.
Khawaja's experience was especially evident in tough moments, and Cummins believes the opener's ability to weather challenging spells reflects his deep understanding of the game.
"So, yeah, who knows? You know, I know he always says age is just a number, so took some good catches in the field as well. Still moving all right. So, yeah, no end date from our end, as long as he's still scoring some runs," he added.
The captain's remarks reinforce the significant role Khawaja plays in the team, not just with the bat but also with his contributions on the field and his invaluable leadership through experience.
In the SCG Test, India won the toss and elected to bat first. India was off to a disappointing start yet again, as the top order threw away their wickets, especially Virat Kohli (17), who continued his struggles with outside off-stump deliveries.
However, the fight by Pant (40 off 98 balls, with three fours and a six), Ravindra Jadeja (26 off 95 balls, with three fours), and skipper Jasprit Bumrah (22 off 17 balls, with three fours and a six) pushed India to 185/10 in 72.2 overs.
Boland (4/31) was the pick of the bowlers for the Aussies and once again a thorn in the side of Indian batters. Mitchell Starc took 3/49, while Pat Cummins got 2/37.
In their first innings, Australia lost wickets at regular intervals even when Jasprit Bumrah (2/33) walked off the field due to an injury scare. Under stand-in skipper Virat Kohli, India continued to dominate the Aussies, skittling them out for just 181 runs and taking a four-run lead. Debutant Beau Webster (57 off 105 balls, with five fours) had a fine showing with the bat, and Steve Smith (33 off 57 balls, with four boundaries and a six) showed some attacking intent.
Prasidh Krishna (3/42) and Mohammed Siraj (3/51) were the top bowlers for India.
With a lead of four runs, India was off to a promising start thanks to Yashasvi Jaiswal (22 off 35 balls, with four boundaries) and KL Rahul (13) as they put on a 45-run stand. But Boland (6/45) troubled the Indian batting once again. Pant did put up a counter-attack with 61 off 33 balls (six fours and four sixes), but India was bundled out for 157 runs, setting up 162 for the Aussies to win. Bumrah could not bowl in the final innings.
Australia was in trouble for a while during the chase of 162 runs at 58/3, but knocks from Usman Khawaja (41 off 45 balls, with four boundaries), Travis Head (34* off 38 balls, with four boundaries), and Webster (39* off 34 balls, with six fours) guided the team to a six-wicket win, despite a fight put up by Prasidh Krishna (3/65).
Boland was named the 'Player of the Match' for his ten-wicket haul, while Bumrah walked away with the 'Player of the Series' award, with 32 wickets.