"He has worked out a method to play in India" - Ian Chappell on Usman Khawaja's gritty half-century in 3rd IND vs AUS Test

Ian Chappell reserved high praise for Australian opener Usman Khawaja following the latter's gutsy 60-run knock on Day 1 of the third Test against India in Indore on Wednesday, March 1.

Chappell pointed out that Khawaja is the only Australian batter who has backed his defensive technique in the Test series. He opined that the southpaw had figured out a way to succeed on the spin-friendly Indian tracks with his calm demeanor.

The cricketer-turned-commentator made these remarks while speaking to ESPNcricinfo after stumps on Day 1. Chappell explained:

"His half-century today was very, very important. He does have a calmness about his play. I think he has worked out a method to play in India. He is one of the Australian players who has trusted his defence in this series. I don't think a lot of Australians trusted their defence in the first Tests, but Khawaja has throughout."

During the discussion, former opener Wasim Jaffer also praised Khawaja for his batting exploits. He noted that the 36-year-old looked unfazed by all the talk surrounding the wicket and was quite calm at the crease.

"Khawaja did look very impressive in Delhi as well," he added. "He comes out and backs his game, that's what I like about it. Irrespective of how the pitch is playing, or what's happening around him. Even at the start of the Test match, he looked very relaxed, even when there was a lot of talk about how the pitch is going to play."

A crucial fifty from Khawaja 🫡

#UsmanKhawaja #Australia https://t.co/3k5RTSlgAK

While Khawaja was at ease, the Indian batters looked clueless against the Australian spinners on the same wicket. The hosts were bundled out for just 109 runs, with only two batters, Virat Kohli (22) and Shubman Gill (21) crossing the 20-run mark.

However, Khawaja showed that it wasn't impossible to score runs on the wicket that offered spin from the first ball. While the wicket settled down a bit after the first session, it was still quite challenging to bat on. Despite the tricky nature of the surface, the left-handed batter delivered an impactful knock, scoring 60 runs off 147 balls.

"That's where you need to take your hat off to the Australian team" - Ian Chappell on the visitors learning from their mistakes

Ian Chappell further stated that Australia deserve a lot of credit for learning from their mistakes in the first two Tests. He emphasized that the visitors assessed what went wrong in Nagpur and Delhi and came up with an improved performance in the third.

Chappell remarked that it wasn't easy to correct mistakes after having suffered back-to-back losses on the tour, adding:

"The Australians talked a lot about learning from the first two Test matches and the fact that they had been beaten badly. It's very easy to talk about doing things, but to go out on the field and do them is not so easy. That's where you need to take your hat off to the Australian team. They obviously thought about what went wrong, and they corrected it."

That's Stumps on Day 1⃣ of the third #INDvAUS Test!

4️⃣ wickets so far for @imjadeja as Australia finish the day with 156/4.

We will be back with LIVE action on Day 2.

Scorecard - bit.ly/INDvAUS-2023-3… #TeamIndia @mastercardindia https://t.co/osXIdrf9iW

Australia finished the day at 156/4. Peter Handscomb and Cameron Green are at the crease and the side have already claimed a crucial 47-run lead in the first innings.