Usman Khawaja said it was funny that people were talking about Steve Smith’s test century drought because the former skipper still consistently produces large scores. Smith cut a frustrated figure after being sacked for 59 on day one of the third Test against Pakistan in Lahore.
The 32-year-old combined with Khawaja (91) to reach a crucial stand of 138 runs to help the ship after Australia fell to 8-2.
Smith’s last Test century came against India in January 2021. Since then, he has struck 14 times in the Test arena, producing seven half-centuries, including scores of 93, 81, 78, and 72.
Smith’s last half-century helped Australia reach 232-5 at Stumps on day one, and Khawaja believes it’s only a matter of time before the star batter reaches triple numbers again.
“I’m sure he’s frustrated in some ways,” Khawaja said. “He is, in my opinion, the greatest bat I have seen in my era, averaging 60 almost his entire test career. I am still impressed with how many runs he has shot over a long period of time.
“I find it so funny that we’re talking about Steve Smith not shooting 100s, he seems to get 70, 80 … and that makes it very easy. That’s just the class Steve Smith has. I’m sure once he gets a big score, bigger scores [will come]. The fact that he gets the 60s, 70s, he looks really good with the bat.
Smith was lbw caught as his bat got caught in the flap of his back pad as he tried to play Naseem Shah on the legs side.
“I was there, it’s not funny when it happens,” Khawaja said. “It’s almost like in slow motion. You bowl that again and he hits it 99 out of 100 times, or 100 out of 100 times. The bat is just caught, a little unlucky.
Khawaja’s last blow took his series to 392 runs with an average of 130.66, but he was in the battlefield while he was at the top on Monday.
“I was a little sick. I got some medication from the doctor between breaks,” Khawaja said. “I did not feel well at all. There were many mind games in between. I just told myself, ‘just keep going, keep going as long as you can, just keep going’.
“And to push through for five hours – I felt absolutely awful at the end of the day. I could have just gone louder and played a big shot and come out at 20 or 30. So for me to get the day off with the heat 90, am I actually really satisfied.
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