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Usman Khawaja hogged limelight with his exceptional century in the Ashes 2023 opener against England when the chips were down for Australia. One again Khawaja proved his batting prowess and rescued Australia from a precarious position.
Riding on Khawaja's century Australia piled up a competitive 386 on the board in reply to England's 393/8 dec. Khawaja cracked an incredible 141 off 321 balls which was studded with 14 fours and three sixes.
Khawaja not only turned heads with his exemplary batting but also with a big revelation. The star Australian opener notched his first Test century on English soil and was very emotional, after being snubbed from the previous Ashes tour to England in 2019.
After his batting heroics while speaking to Sky Sports, Khawaja talked his heart out and revealed that he thought his career was done after he had played 44 matches.
"Honestly, I thought that 44 Test matches, my career was done. I was very content and happy. Most people don't get to play 44 Test matches. Scored 8 hundreds, been a part of Ashes-winning teams, lots of winning teams. So when I got an opportunity to play again, honestly every Test feels like a bonus. Nothing lasts forever, so I am enjoying the ride," said Khawaja.
Khawaja also admitted that he was was in the best mental space heading into the Ashes 2023.
“Majority of things that happen as a batter are in your head. Very few times it might be technical. For me, I was probably in the best spot ever coming into England. I know this is probably going to be my last tour. I know that I was going to enjoy this tour. For me, I know that if the team is doing well, I am enjoying my cricket, but at the same time if I am a part of that, I got to keep scoring runs too. So it all came together I guess," Khawaja concluded.
Khawaja, who cracked his 15th Test century, also shattered 139-year-old record as it was the first instance in these many years that a non Australia born opener scored a century in away Ashes match. Notably, back in 1884 Kennington, London-born Australian batter Percy McDonnell scored century in the Kennington Oval.
After losing the likes of David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head early on Day 2, it was Khawaja who bolstered Australia's batting and steered his team from a perilous 220/5 to 372/7 before getting dismissed by Ollie Robinson.
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