"It’d be pretty harsh if he bowled straight away" - Usman Khawaja hopes Pat Cummins will let him score a double ton on Day 4 in Sydney

Australian batter Usman Khawaja hopes he gets a crack at his first double hundred on Day 4 of the third Test against South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The veteran batter revealed that Pat Cummins had joked about denying him the milestone and declaring Australia's innings immediately.

Due to persistent showers, Day 3 had to be abandoned without play, leaving Khawaja stranded on 195. The 36-year-old passed his best score of 174 on Day 3 and looked untroubled against South Africa's pace trio. He could have reached his maiden Test double ton on Day 3 in Sydney.

Speaking after the abandoned day, Khawaja reckoned Cummins would not declare straight away. While the Pakistan-born batter admitted that time is an enemy, he backed Australia to force a win and complete a 3-0 sweep.

As quoted by The Age, he said:

"I think it’d be pretty harsh if he bowled straight away. I don’t think that’s going to happen. He’s been making a few jokes, just walking around [and saying, ‘I’ve let Deano know that we want to go out and have a bowl straight away’. He’s been in the changing room taking the mickey out of me. We could go out there and get a few more runs really quickly or we could declare pretty much straight away. I’m not the captain. I don’t make those decisions. A result is very unlikely, let’s be honest, but it’s still possible."

Australia are currently 475-4 after choosing to bat at the SCG. While David Warner perished early, Khawaja shared monumental partnerships with Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith and Travis Head to put the Proteas to the sword.

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"Every hundred is extremely special" - Usman Khawaja

Usman Khawaja. (Image Credits: Getty)

The southpaw reflected on his third consecutive Test hundred at the SCG and stated that it's hard to compare his performance now and against England in the Ashes. He added:

"Every hundred is extremely special. Last year’s was unexpected because I wasn’t intending to play. Even my wife came to me and said, ‘That was really cool but I think last year might have been a little bit cooler’. Even she is discrediting this hundred."

With Travis Head ruled out after testing positive for COVID-19, Khawaja returned for the SCG Test in the 2021-22 Ashes series. The southpaw made twin tons as England held Australia to a hard-fought draw.