Usman Khawaja has etched his name in Australian cricket history, joining the legendary Donald Bradman as the second Australian over the age of 38 to score a Test double-century. Khawaja reached this remarkable milestone on Day 2 of the first Test against Sri Lanka, marking his first-ever double hundred.
Khawaja is also the only Australian to have scored a double century in Sri Lanka. He previously surpassed Justin Langer's 166 in Colombo (2004) as the highest score by an Australian in Sri Lanka.
Additionally, he became the first Australian to score a double-ton in Asia since Jason Gillespie's iconic 201 against Bangladesh in 2006.
The list of Australians who have achieved a Test double century includes Matthew Hayden (201* vs India in Chennai), Dean Jones (210 vs India in the 1986 Madras Tied Test), Greg Chappell (235 vs Pakistan in Faisalabad in 1980), and Mark Taylor (334 vs Pakistan in Peshawar in 1998).
At the end of Day 2, Australia were batting at 482/3, with Khawaja on 208 and debutant Josh Inglis on 47. The Australian team resumed at 330/2, with play starting 15 minutes earlier due to rain on Day 1. Khawaja and captain Steve Smith continued their dominant partnership, which eventually reached a record 266 runs for the third wicket—Australia's highest Test partnership in Sri Lanka.
The visitors crossed the 400-run mark when an overthrow on a missed run-out chance allowed Khawaja to move to 177. Smith's marathon knock ended in the 100th over when leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay trapped him LBW for 141, ending the mammoth partnership.
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