Usman Khawaja continued his fairytale return to the Australian test side on Thursday with his second hundred in the series in Pakistan, where he was born.
Khawaja had been ignored by selectors since he was dropped during the 2019 Ashes series but the Queensland batter forced his way back into the Australian test squad after scoring heavily in domestic games.
His chance to play a first test in more than two years arrived in another Ashes series, the fourth test in Sydney, because Travis Head tested positive for COVID-19.
Batting in the middle order at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the 35-year-old Khawaja scored 137 and 101 not out.
With the return of Head, Khawaja was forced to convert into a makeshift opener and he has blossomed in the position in Pakistan.
The son of Pakistan immigrants, the left-hander has amassed 496 runs in the South Asian country at an astonishing average of over 165.
“You can never get too far ahead of yourself in cricket,” he told reporters on Thursday in a video conference from Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.
“I was batting well but I have two hundreds and couple of 90s. I’m pretty tired right now … but very grateful.
“We weren’t sure whether we’re gonna come to Pakistan at some stage. And then we have and it’s been a really good series. I’ve obviously enjoyed batting out here so that’s been fun. But you can never expect these things.
“Just have to train hard, get the process well long enough and then you can actually hope to achieve what I have over the last couple of weeks.”
