Even while enduring a lean 2024, Usman Khawaja was earmarked for the Sri Lanka tour. He underlined exactly why in emphatic style on day one
Khawaja repays coach's faith as key batter in Asia
Amid the debate that smouldered around Usman Khawaja's Test tenure in the lead-up to the home summer against India, the veteran opener knew he had at least one highly influential figure in his corner.
Despite spending 2024 as the reigning ICC Test Player of the Year, Khawaja's credentials were suddenly questioned in some quarters partly because he was due to turn 38 during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Series, and largely due to diminished returns.
After an emphatic Ashes campaign in the UK where he finished as leading runs scorer including a crucial 141 in the first Test at Edgbaston, Khawaja had passed 50 just twice in 14 innings with a best of 90 against Pakistan at Perth.
But even before his gruelling new-ball battle with India's Jasprit Bumrah began last November, Australia men's team coach and national selector Andrew McDonald had made it clear that, regardless of results, he had Khawaja earmarked for a specific task.
"Andrew McDonald even last year he said to me, 'I don't care what happens just make sure you're on the Sri Lankan tour, I want you on the Sri Lankan tour'," Khawaja revealed after his unbeaten 147 on day one of the first Test at Galle.
"At that time I was like 'cool, yep'."
The reason for McDonald being so adamant about the veteran left-hander and his importance to a team that has not won a series in Sri Lanka since 2011 was written in the recent past, and heavily underlined yesterday.
In the 30 previous Tests Australia played in Asia stretching back to the start of their 2011 sojourn in India, only twice had a batter remained at the crease unbeaten across an entire day in notoriously spin-friendly conditions.
And both those prior occasions were Khawaja – against Pakistan at Karachi in 2022 (where he finished day one 127no on his way to an eventual 160), and the final Test of the 2023 India campaign at Ahmedabad (127no after day one, finishing with 180).
The batter to achieve the rare feat before Khawaja was Shane Watson, who remained undefeated after the opening day of the first Test at Mohali in 2011 on 101no, though his eventual 126 could not prevent Australia suffering a one-wicket loss.
In an interview with cricket.com.au prior to the current Test, where Australia finished day one a dominant 2-330 with stand-in captain Steve Smith 104no, Khawaja conceded his record on the subcontinent comprised a performance of two distinctly different acts.
Before his epiphany at Kandy where he decided he should add a reverse sweep to his batting arsenal, the left-hander had managed just 117 from nine innings at an average of 14.63 with a high score of 26.
Since his breakthrough match against Pakistan at Dubai in October 2018, Khawaja has piled on 1342 runs from 20 knocks (including his current effort at Galle) at the extraordinary average of 83.87 with five centuries.
Of visiting Test players to bat more than once in Asia during that period, only England's Harry Brook (84.10) boasts a better average.
It's therefore self-evident why McDonald was insistent that Khawaja be part of the Sri Lanka tour, with that faith and forward-planning rewarded within a day of this series beginning.
That's because it was not simply the number of runs Khawaja completed yesterday after Smith won the toss and delightedly took first use of a more-sluggish-than-usual pitch at Galle, which has been best by weeks of unseasonal rain.
Even more decisive was the manner in, and the pace with which he put them on the board in partnerships with fellow opener Travis Head (a stand of 92 off 88 balls), Marnus Labuschagne (43 off 93) and Smith (an unbroken 195 off 307).
The initial onslaught aimed by Khawaja and Head set Sri Lanka's bowlers on their heels, as Australia finished within a run of their previous best day-one effort on the island despite losing 40 minutes and at least nine overs to more late afternoon rain.
"Me and Heady both went after them a little bit at the start," Khawaja said after play yesterday.
"I took the offie (off-spinner Nishan Peiris) over his head a couple of times, and Heady was doing what Heady does and we both put pressure on the bowlers in our own way.
"I just think we batted really well today.
"I've played with Aussie teams in the past and we haven't been able to put pressure on subcontinent teams, particularly when we bat.
Watch out in close, Travis Head is smoking them 🔥#SLvAUS pic.twitter.com/8P1rd4fOsX
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) January 29, 2025
"But today we definitely put pressure on their bowling, and it showed with how fast we were scoring up until tea when they went more defensive with more legside plans.
"Up until then, we were flying along."
Indeed, Australia were 2-261 from 60 overs come the start of the final session, scoring at almost 4.5 per over before the hosts applied the brakes by having their spinners aim outside leg stump to fire the ball into the pair's pads.
But rather than try to continue taking the game on in failing light, Khawaja and Smith happily throttled back while picking off boundaries from the occasional loose offering as Australia cautiously eyes their highest Galle total which currently stands at 8-512 in 2004.
Sri Lanka's cause was undermined by a series of missed chances as well as two not out decisions that would have been overturned had they utilised DRS.
It's happened again 🫣
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) January 29, 2025
For the second time today, a decision given not out that Sri Lanka don't review...
Which would have been given out! #SLvAUS pic.twitter.com/0yV99Bb2hH
But their spin bowling coach Piyal Wijetunga admitted at day's end that, while Galle's soggy weather had resulted in an atypical pitch at a venue where the home spinners have reigned in recent years, most of their wounds were self-inflicted.
"It's a tough day in office," Wijetunga said after all but seven of the team's 81.1 overs were sent down by spin trio Prabath Jayasuriya (1-102), Jeffrey Vandersay (1-93) and Peiris (0-93).
"Everyone could see we couldn't bring our A-game today, and actually credit should go the Aussie batters.
"They handled our spinners extremely well. We've got a big task on our hands tomorrow.
"The wicket is not a usual Galle wicket, it's on the slower side.
"But you can't put the blame on the wicket, when the wicket is not helping bowlers then you should look at alternatives. We accept that we did not bowl that well today."
While Sri Lanka's bowling and fielding efforts were undeniably sub-par on day one of the series, Khawaja rightly pointed out that "sometimes you've got to give credit to the batsmen".
The fact he and his fellow top-order specialists were able to not only defy the likes of Jayasuriya – who destroyed Australia in the previous meeting between the teams at the same venue in 2022 – but force him into negative bowling through their pressure, told its own tale.
However, despite their position of strength heading into day two, Khawaja and his teammates understand the challenges Galle poses with clear memories of how the second Test of that prior 2022 tour played out.
Having scored a 10-wicket win on a raging turner in the first game of that series, they were confronted by a markedly different surface for the second which was good for batting across the first few days before taking savage spin.
That enabled Jayasuriya to run amok, snaring six wickets in each innings as the visitors were rolled for 151 in barely 40 overs on the fourth day to crash to an innings defeat.
"It's still not easy out there," Khawaja said last night.
"I've had to employ a lot of sweeps and reverse, and Smudge (Smith) has had to do his thing the way he does it.
"When there's a partnership going on it might look a little bit easier than it is, but you never get ahead of yourself in Galle.
"I think we learned that last time, particularly the second game so we'll be taking that into this game."
Qantas Tour of Sri Lanka
First Test: January 29-February 2, Galle (3.30pm AEDT)
Second Test: February 6-10, Galle (3.30pm AEDT)
Sri Lanka Test squad: Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka (subject to fitness), Oshada Fernando, Lahiru Udara, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Sonal Dinusha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nishan Peiris, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Milan Rathnayake
Australia Test squad: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster
First ODI: February 12, Colombo (3.30pm AEDT)
Second ODI: February 14, Colombo (3.30pm AEDT)