[Watch] Usman Khawaja scores his maiden Test hundred in England on day 2 at Edgbaston
Australian opener Usman Khawaja scored his first Test hundred in English conditions, bringing it up on Day 2 of the first Test at Edgbaston. The left-handed batter, who notched his 15th Test ton, got to the milestone in the 69th over of the day with a late cut off Ben Stokes' bowling.
It's worth noting that Khawaja was dropped from the XI after the second Test of the 2019 Ashes series due to poor returns. The veteran scored a fifty during the 2013 leg and has now scored a hundred.
Here's how Khawaja celebrated the ton at Edgbaston:
The past two years have undoubtedly seen the best of Khawaja. He marked his return to the Test team in the Sydney Test of the 2021-22 Ashes series and scored centuries in both innings. He has scored Test hundreds in Pakistan and India and now in England.
Usman Khawaja keeps Australia in the game
The classy left-handed batter has kept Australia in the game even as England haven't allowed the tourists to build big partnerships by striking at regular intervals. Australia lost David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, and Steve Smith within the first session of play. Stuart Broad rocked the tourists by dismissing Warner and Labuschagne in consecutive deliveries before Smith came in and restored some sanity.
Travis Head added 81 with his fellow southpaw, while Cameron Green added 72 with the left-hander. Moeen Ali nabbed the wickets of Head and Green. Then, Australia dominated the final session of Day 2 as they are at 311/5. Khawaja is batting at 126*, while Alex Carey is unbeaten on 52.
England declared their innings on day 1 at 393/8, headlined by Joe Root's unbeaten 118. Off-spinner Nathan Lyon picked up four wickets, while Josh Hazlewood, who won the selection race with Mitchell Starc, took two.
Australia, the current Ashes holders, are coming off a World Test Championship (WTC) win over India at the Kennington Oval. Meanwhile, England opened their summer with a 10-wicket win over Ireland at Lord's.