Khawaja's 'very Special' Ton Stamps Australia's Day One Dominance

Australia opener Usman Khawaja on Thursday said emotions took over after he struck his first Test century in India as the tourists dominated the opening day of the fourth match

Ahmedabad, India, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Mar, 2023 ) :Australia opener Usman Khawaja on Thursday said emotions took over after he struck his first Test century in India as the tourists dominated the opening day of the fourth match.

Australia reached 255-4 at stumps after they won the toss and elected to bat in their bid to square the four-match series at the world's biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.

After a long grind, Khawaja was batting on 104 alongside Cameron Green, on 49, at close of play as the pair put together an attacking stand of 85.

The left-handed Khawaja put on key stands including a 79-run third-wicket partnership with skipper Steve Smith, who made 38, to hand Australia a strong start.

The Pakistan-born Khawaja jumped up in joy after he raised the second hundred of a low-scoring series with a boundary in the final over of the day.

"A lot of emotion in that. I have been to India two tours before this and carried the drinks for eight Test matches, so it was a long journey to finally hit a hundred in India," Khawaja told broadcaster Star sports.

"As an Australian, that's what you want to tick off, so it's very special." Khawaja later told reporters: "Throughout the middle of my career I got told I couldn't play spin and that's why I never got an opportunity to play in India." India skipper Rohit Sharma hit 120 in the opener, but is now second to the Australian opener, who leads the series batting chart with 257 runs.

It was Khawaja's 14th Test ton in 60 matches since he made his debut in 2011.

Green remained the attacking partner in an unbeaten partnership with Khawaja and helped Australia plunder 54 runs in nine overs after India took the second new ball in the 82nd over.

Travis Head started aggressively and made 32 in a 61-run opening partnership with Khawaja before India hit back with two wickets in the first session.

Khawaja and stand-in-skipper Smith got down to hard work after lunch to wear down the Indian bowlers on a pitch that looks good for batting.

Ravindra Jadeja bowled Smith after the left-arm spinner's delivery skidded off the turf to get the batsman's inside and onto the stumps.