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Australia opener Usman Khawaja suffered from knee pain during the ongoing fourth test at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. After completing the Indian batting innings, Australia started their second inning as Matt Kuhnemann opened alongside Travis Head on Day 4.
The interesting batting change caused a stir, but it is understood that Kuhnemann opened due to Khawaja’s knee problems. The flamboyant Aussie opener landed awkwardly on his left knee trying to intercept Todd Murphy’s Axar Patel, who eventually scored a six when the southpaw landed on the boundary ropes with the ball still in his hands.
According to The Age, Australian medical staff advised the southpaw a “lower leg injury”. Notably, it was the same knee that Khawaja injured in 2018. It remains to be seen if the batter can bat on the final day.
“A left-handed Queenslander like Uzzy,” Alex Carey jokingly told the media while describing Kuhnemann. “He immediately raised his hand and did a fantastic job. It probably wasn’t his day for the prom. But yeah, all the boys would definitely get him for raising his hand tonight.
“It’s a difficult task to go outside and face this new ball against Indian spinners. So he did a fantastic job with Travis, but obviously the night guard came into play 20 minutes ago, so we sent them out…” he said.
Australia Trail by 88 Runs on Day 4
Speaking of the match, Team India surpassed Australia’s first innings result thanks to Virat Kohli’s masterclass on Day 4. The daring right-hander took charge of the crucial runs as he scored a sensational ton (186), his 75th century in national cricket, to to end its drought. Most recently, Kohli scored a test ton at home against Bangladesh in November 2019.
Kohli and Axar Patel sewed a 162-run partnership that helped India surpass Australia’s total. After the drinks, however, the Aussies struck quickly to close out the Indian innings for 571 runs, with an overall lead of 91 runs.
Spin sensations Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy returned with three wickets each, while Kuhnemann and Starc got one wicket each to complete the innings. An exciting final day awaits as tourists will attempt to set up a competitive destination whilst India will attempt to conquer all 10 gates as quickly as possible considering the last berth of the World Test Championship is at stake.
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