2019 WORLD CUP

Usman Khawaja's batting - An acquired taste

Usman Khawaja scored a 72-ball 89 in Australia's win over Bangladesh
Usman Khawaja scored a 72-ball 89 in Australia's win over Bangladesh ©Getty

Watching Usman Khawaja bat is like being asked to acquire a taste for gin in England. It's unlikely to be your first pick when you walk into a pub or tavern unless of course you've prematurely developed a taste for the clear, transparent and often flavoured drink. But you'll always find it on the shelf, clubbed with all the spirits, and sat behind the incessant options for beers and ales this country has to offer. And those not so much in favour of gin will never get what those gushing about it are on about, or just on.

It's somewhat like Khawaja, especially in ODI cricket. And it's got as much to do with the quality of batting around him in the Australian team as it does with his own. For, he's not your ugly leftie. But he's not your stylish left-hander either. He's somewhere in between. Like with gin, his batting is unlikely to get you too full or too giddy, and it only just about satiates your senses enough to remind you the next day that you were made to indulge in it.

Unless of course you are in that category of people who are really into Khawaja's batting. That's what makes it more an acquired rather than a refined taste. His 89 off 72 at Trent Bridge, while David Warner racked up a breezy 147-ball 166 was a perfect reflection of that.

This is not to say that Khawaja isn't a quality batsman. For, he certainly is. He also has a record to show for it. And those who do admire his batting greatly have many reasons to do so. You don't average in the early 40s in Tests and ODIs if you aren't really good at what you do. And owing to the bulk of runs he's scored this year in the 50-over format, he's also become a fixture in the Australian ODI team. It's just that his approach to batting and a significant part of his batting aesthetic can at times be overshadowed by the fizzier and more eye-catchingly glamorous batsmen around him.

Watching Warner bat is an indulgence you order on tap, even in his present avatar, where he does seem slightly more conservative than before. When he's in flow like he was after a scratchy start against Bangladesh, you wouldn't know when to stop or get enough of it. Before you know it, you're buzzing and are on a high, and he's springing up in the air and punching it with his helmet in the other hand. And it's likely that a number of the shots you've seen him play are still resonating in your head a day later- whether it's that fearsome cut, the on-the-up drive, the blazing footwork while launching the spinners over the straight field or even the hook shot he produced off Mustafizur Rahman early in his innings on Thursday (June 20).

Smith is a cocktail or concoction of movements and animations - even if it's he who gesticulates around like a bartender - but if you get enough of his batting, you know it'll leave you intoxicated with beguiling class even if at times you aren't quite sure what's gone into it or just how he's managed to produce the perfect mix.

Unless of course he walks out to bat in the 47th over, and then it's just a bunch of everything thrown in together. If we take the boozy references a bit forward, Maxwell's knocks could well be any among the assortment of rums on the shelf - you can either get it very right or very wrong. And the spiced ones, those with the punchy notes upon impact like his explosive 10-ball 32, generally are on high demand, even if they don't deliver on their promise too regularly.

Khawaja though is at times difficult to fathom for the uninitiated. There are some shots he plays that can produce the odd hint of exhilaration. There's the cover drive he pulls off if the bowler gets too full, or at times he can stand up tall and elegant and dish out a square drive to a length delivery with some width. There's also the swivel pull shot that when pulled off perfectly can knock you off your seat, like the fours he smashed off the Bangladeshi seamers in Nottingham. Those apart, a Khawaja knock is a blend of very minute flavours and a whole lot of resourcefulness, much like the man and the batsman himself.

And like with gin in England, Khawaja is always a great conversation starter, at least in a cricket setting. And rarely will you not end up sparking a debate of some kind by mentioning his name. Some love his batting. Some loathe his batting. Some can stand it only if there's someone at the other end like a Smith and Warner to complement it.

The conundrum over just getting a fix on Khawaja also has a lot to do with his role in the present squad. Most of his success earlier in the year in India and the UAE came as an opener in the absence of Warner. But with the bludgeoner back in the mix, the left-hander has been pushed down the order. While he's come out at No.3 in 4 out of the 6 innings, they've been in different circumstances - owing mainly to the form of Warner and Aaron Finch.

They've ranged from walking in during the 17th over against Afghanistan with his team needing just over a 100 runs, to the 3rd over against a fired-up and pacy West Indian attack, the 17th over again versus Sri Lanka with the openers having laid a platform just like here against Bangladesh, where the score read 121/1 in 20.5 overs when Finch got out.

The other two occasions Khawaja has walked out in awkward situations - at No.4 with the required run-rate already soaring in the massive run-chase against India and at No.6 against Pakistan with the big-hitters having been set ahead of him and now armed with the task to up the ante. To his credit, Khawaja has tried his best to blend himself into every scenario with mixed results.

There's a reason Australia like having him in the XI, considering the steadying presence he provides alongside Smith in a middle-order otherwise dependent on the likes of Glenn Maxwell and the fit-again Marcus Stoinis with Alex Carey to follow. And though not always very fluently, the flurry of boundaries he produced against an erratic Bangladesh attack in the late overs- 5 off 8 balls - showed that he does have the ability to turn it on. But whether it would have convinced those not quite hooked on to Khawaja would depend on your taste really.

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