No praise is enough for the batting of Usman Khawaja, says Sarfraz Ahmed

Pakistan were the favourites to win the first Test against Australia in the UAE. They had the upper hand most of the times and it looked inevitable for the Aussies to bag a difficult win. However, one-man, Usman Khawaja stood firm in between Pakistan and a win on the last two days of the match. He was instrumental in helping his side draw the game and has also left the opposition skipper, Sarfraz Ahmed in awe.

Khawaja scored 141 runs in the second innings, which was his seventh Test century. The Islamabad-born Australian faced 302 deliveries alone and helped the team get into a safe zone. Although he got out little before the end of the fifth day, the other players didn’t let his efforts go in vain.

Sarfraz admits that Khawaja frustrated them on the last day

The Pakistani skipper noted that they were in a good position to win the game. However, he said that Khawaja played some great cricket. He showered praises on the left-hander for his shot selection and conceded that sweeping and reverse-sweeping wasn’t easy on the fifth day. Sarfraz also added he it was quite frustrating but said that it was the beauty of Test cricket. He said that they put their best efforts to win the match.

“When we came here today we were confident to win the Test, we were in a good position, and that’s the beauty of Test cricket. Khawaja batted well, no praise is enough for his batting. Khawaja played all his shots which are usually tough on the fifth day for a batsman, the sweep and reverse sweep, so it’s frustrating,” he said.

“In Test cricket, the beauty lies in the fact that a team can draw from a position of losing after a thrilling contest. We did our best efforts, but unfortunately, the result did not come our way,” Sarfraz Ahmed said after the end of the game.

Sarfraz, who tossed the ball up to Yasir Shah in a majority of the last few overs with no success, backed the leg-spinner. He said that Yasir was playing a Test after a year and hopes for him to come good.

For all the latest cricket news and other updates follow CricTracker.