Australian opener Usman Khawaja played a brilliant counter-attacking knock in the second test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. During his vital knock Khawaja stunned Virat Kohli as he understood his instruction to off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin even when the star batter used Hindi to deliver his idea.
Usman Khawaja decodes Virat Kohli’s instructions to Ravichandran Ashwin
Aussie skipper Pat Cummins won the toss for the second consecutive time and yet again decided to bat first against the Men in Blue after facing a horrific defeat by an innings and 132 runs in the first test in Nagpur. However, the opening pair of Usman Khawaja and David Warner allowed them a steady start in the second test.
David Warner was dismissed by pacer Mohammad Shami after scoring 15 runs for which he faced 44 deliveries. On the other hand, Usman Khawaja kept playing his shots and made sure the Indian bowlers were under some pressure unlike the first test where they kept taking wickets at regular intervals.
During the 29th over of Australian innings bowled by Ravichandran Ashwin, Usman Khawaja played a forward defensive shot after which Team India’s former skipper Virat Kohli who was standing at slips instructed Ashwin and used Hindi to deliver his idea.
“Ash, ek aur maarne de (Ashwin, let him hit one more shot), “ instructed Virat Kohli to Ravichandran Ashwin.
Interestingly, Usman Khawaja understood the words uttered by Virat Kohli in Hindi and acknowledged the idea after which both Usman Khawaja and Virat Kohli burst into laughter.
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Khawaja who looked really well throughout his innings used sweep and reverse-sweep as his key weapons against the Indian spin trio of Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar. The Aussie opener played a crucial knock of 81 runs which included 12 fours and a solitary six. Khawaja got enough support from his skipper Pat Cummins who scored 33 vital runs.
Usman Khawaja was then dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja while attempting one more reverse sweep as KL Rahul took a stunning catch in the cover-point region that opened the doors for Indian bowlers.
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Once Khawaja was dismissed, it was Peter Handscomb who kept the Australian hopes alive as he scored 72 runs from 142 deliveries. Indian bowlers hunted in pack as they bowled out Australia at a below-par total of 263. Mohammad Shami was the leading wicket taker as he dismissed 4 Aussie batters while Ashwin and Jadeja took 3 wickets each.