Usman Khawaja Bounces Back from Bumrah Blow to Almost Match Bradman’s 77-Year-Old Feat

Coming to Australia’s first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, Usman Khawaja delivered a stunning performance, scoring his maiden Test double-century. At 38, he became the oldest Australian in 77 years to achieve this feat, second only to the legendary Don Bradman, who scored his last of 12 double centuries in 1948. Khawaja’s innings, which lasted nearly eight hours, was a remarkable comeback from a poor run in 2024, where he averaged just 20.44 in 10 innings.

During his knock, he had some luck on his side. He was caught behind on 74, but the umpire ruled it not out, and Sri Lanka chose not to review. Later, he was dropped on 90 by Kusal Mendis. Khawaja, alongside Steve Smith, built a record-breaking 266-run partnership for the third wicket, surpassing the previous best of 200 by Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn in 2004. Smith, in the process, became the 15th player and only the fourth Australian to cross 10,000 Test runs.

Khawaja admitted that his struggles in the 2024 Border-Gavaskar Trophy were due to Jasprit Bumrah’s brilliance. Bumrah, who took 32 wickets at an average of 13.06, was named Player of the Series as Australia won 3-1.