"Khawaja should have been given opportunity to make his 200" - Twitterati slams Australia for declaring innings on Day 4 

Cricket fans on Saturday, January 7, were furious with Australia for denying Usman Khawaja the opportunity to score his maiden Test double-hundred on Day 4 of the third Test against South Africa at the SCG.

Khawaja was batting at 195 at the end of the second day and five runs would have helped him reach the milestone. Bad light and rain didn't allow Khawaja to reach the sensational feat on the second day. Day 3 of the final Test was washed away completely without a ball being bowled.

To make matters worse, the rain showers delayed play in the morning as the groundsmen took time to clear the wet outfield. Just before it looked like the session would move ahead comfortably, the rain gods once again stepped in as lunch was called at 12:12 PM (Australia Central Standard Time) in Sydney.

At 13:19 local time, Australia declared their innings at 475 for 4, which meant Khawaja was stranded at 195. The hosts were left with 59 overs in the day and possibly another 98 on the last day. The Pat Cummins-led side will need to bowl out South Africa twice to force a result and become the first team to qualify for the 2021-23 World Test Championship final in June.

Fans were disappointed as they felt Khawaja should have got at least a few overs to face at the start of play to complete the milestone.

Many opined the game is already out of Australia's favor as a draw appears to be the most likely result. Hence, they felt it made no sense to refuse the opening batter a possible double-ton.

Here is how some of them reacted on Twitter:

Khawaja has been on a tremendous run since returning to the Test side in 2022. The southpaw has amassed 1275 runs at an average of 79.68 with five centuries and three of them came in a row at the SCG.

Australia pick three wickets before 20 overs

Australia reduced the Proteas to 40 for 3 after 20 overs to put them under pressure straight away. Josh Hazlewood forced Dean Elgar to nick one behind the stumps with an angling short ball.

Nathan Lyon stunned Sarel Erwee with a slight off-breaker as the batter opted to leave the ball with his bat above his shoulders. Lyon's turn crashed into the left-hander's stumps. Skipper Cummins induced Heinrich Klassen's edge while he played it down the leg.