"Felt tough the whole time" - Usman Khawaja following his patient 60 on Day 1 of third Test
Australian opener Usman Khawaja has conceded that he took a simple approach during his critical half-century on Day 1 of the third Test against India in Indore. However, the left-hander doesn't expect the pitch to get any better as the game progresses.
The opener was the standout batter across the two sides as 14 wickets fell on day one on a spiteful pitch in Indore. After Australia bowled India out for 109, the veteran opener followed it up with a patient 60 to put Australia ahead in the game.
Speaking after the day's play, the 36-year-old stated that it was certainly not an easy wicket to bat on but explained that he decided to stay patient.
"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."
Matthew Kuhnemann's fifer inspired Australia after he started the procession by outfoxing Rohit Sharma for his first wicket. The left-arm spinner picked up his fifth wicket by dismissing Umesh Yadav shortly after lunch. Virat Kohli was the top-scorer for India with 22.
"I used the sweep intermittently" - Usman Khawaja
The Pakistan-born cricketer underlined that he used the much-talked-about sweep shot judiciously much like the last Test and that he aimed to keep the bowlers guessing. The southpaw added:
"I used the sweep intermittently when I needed to today, did a 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."
Ravindra Jadeja took all four Australian wickets that fell on Day 1, including that of Khawaja after he went for the sweep shot and holed it out to deep mid-wicket.