The Australian opener, Usman Khawaja said that batting hasn’t been easy at the Holkar Stadium in Indore and they are aware that the pitch in the third Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy will be getting any easier for batting. As many as 14 wickets went down on the first day of the Test in Indore. Steve Smith and his men are leading by 47 runs with six wickets left in their first innings.
After opting to bat first, India was bowled out for 109 in 33.2 overs. Even though Matthew Kuhnemann was the pick of the Aussie bowlers as he registered the figures of 9-2-16-5, Nathan Lyon picked up three wickets.
WATCH – Ravindra Jadeja Dismiss Marnus Labuschagne After 4 Consecutive Maidens
As per the quotes in India Today, during the post-match interaction, Usman Khawaja said, “I played to my plans, tried to score when there was an opportunity and kept out the good balls. Not rocket science, honestly. Not an easy wicket out there. Spin-friendly wicket, it felt tough the whole time and I don’t expect it to get better.”
Usman Khawaja's 60 may just be the difference between the two sides #INDvAUS
▶️ https://t.co/g00kIAtdXR pic.twitter.com/qC4ZUmiM1i
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 1, 2023
Usman Khawaja was the primary reason behind Australia finishing Day 1 with their noses ahead. The southpaw opener amassed 60 runs off 147 balls with four fours before left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja accounted for his wicket.
Elaborating the same, Usman Khawaja said, “I used the sweep intermittently when I needed to today, did the similar thing last week. It’s just another arsenal in your repertoire. It’s hard enough out there, bowler keeps you guessing, I was trying to keep them guessing too. It was a bit of a cat and mouse.”
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Jadeja picked up four wickets, but the other Indian spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel failed to get a wicket. Australia finished Day 1 on 156 for the loss of four wickets in 54 overs.
