Australian opener Usman Khawaja was denied a shot at his maiden double hundred in Test cricket after Pat Cummins declared Australia’s first innings on the in a single day rating of 475/4 on Day 4 of the continued Pink Ball Test towards South Africa.
Notably, after rain affected the primary two days earlier than Day 3 was fully washed out with Australia 475/4, Khawaja was unbeaten at 195 — his highest Test rating. However, the Queenslander didn’t get the chance to succeed in the double hundred as Cummins determined to declare the Aussie first innings in order to achieve an early benefit to win the competition and register a clear sweep over Proteas.
With that, Khawja joined an unwanted list that options none aside from the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. The left-handed opener has turn into solely the third participant in the historical past of Test cricket when an inning has been declared with a participant batting into his 190s.
The first occasion of a captain declaring the innings when a batter was into his 190s occurred again in 1960 throughout England’s tour of West Indies. In the opening Test at Bridgetown, Caribbean skipper Gerry Alexander, who himself made 3 runs, declared the primary innings at 563/8, with Frank Worrell staying unbeaten on 197.
The second such incident passed off throughout India’s tour of Pakistan in 2004. Interestingly, it additionally occurred on the sequence opener when Rahul Dravid determined to declare India’s first innings at 675/5, with Tendulkar batting at 194 in Multan. The vacationers, nevertheless, managed to win the primary Test by an innings and 52 runs.
Coming again to the continued third and remaining Test between Australia and South Africa, the hosts, after their eyebrow-raising declaration, have dismissed six wickets of Proteas for 149. Skipper Cummins wreaked havoc on the fourth day, taking three wickets whereas conceding 29 runs in 14 overs, together with 5 maidens.