Usman Khawaja during the first day of WTC final. (Image: Twitter/BCCI) Former Australia coach Justin Langer has put forward a bizarre theory to explain opener Usman Khawaja’s duck in the first innings of the World Test Championship Final versus India at The Oval.
Langer believes Khawaja’s failure may have been caused by the ‘long-sleeve sweater’ he was sporting.
“He came out wearing a long-sleeve sweater. I felt if I had a long-sleeve sweater, especially early, you need to be sharp – I never felt right. And he came out wearing that long-sleeved sweater today and didn’t get going. He will be disappointed to be out in the first half an hour,” Langer said on air.
Khawaja out for a duck as India strike early! #WTCFinal pic.twitter.com/4adpuKmoXW
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) June 7, 2023
In the fourth over of Australia’s innings, Khawaja was out for a duck. He hung his bat out in response to a length ball pitched across by Siraj but it resulted in him edging the ball and being caught. This was his seventh single-digit score during his 13th Test innings in England.
Meanwhile, on Day 2, India’s batting performance was disastrous as skipper Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill were quickly dismissed.
Adding to their misery, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli were gone after cheap dismissals. Despite being under pressure, seasoned all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja played a fantastic innings. 48 runs were scored in 51 deliveries by the 34-year-old.
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