Usman Khawaja celebrates BBL return with match-winning 78: Stats
What's the story
Brisbane Heat climbed to fifth on the Big Bash League (BBL) points table after defeating Sydney Thunder by seven wickets at The Gabba on Saturday. Usman Khawaja, who made his first appearance this season and captained the team, was instrumental in the victory. He scored a fluent 78 off 48 balls as Brisbane chased down a target of 180 with ease, finishing with 22 balls to spare.
Match highlights
Khawaja's performance powers the run chase
Khawaja's fluent innings set the tone for Heat's chase. Jack Wildermuth also made a quick-fire 39 off just 15 balls, hitting four fours and three sixes. However, he was dismissed by Daniel Sams in the fourth over of the innings. Despite a couple of quiet overs from Thunder after PowerPlay and Nathan McSweeney's dismissal, Khawaja and Matt Renshaw took their team to victory with a 93-run partnership off just 54 balls.
Stats
A look at his stats
Khawaja hit seven fours and three sixes en route to his 48-ball 78. This was his 13th BBL fifty, which has taken his tally to 2,210 runs from 71 matches at an average of 34. His strike rate of 132.73 is also decent (100s: 2). Overall in T20 cricket, the 39-year-old now boasts 3,370 from 119 matches at 30.63 (SR: 131.43). The tally includes 20 50-plus scores, including three tons.
International cricket
Khawaja signed off from Test cricket
Khawaja recently announced his retirement from international cricket, having made his final apperance in the fifth and final Test against England at the SCG. Khawaja ended his career as the 15th highest run-getter for Australia in Tests, having scored 6,229 runs from 88 Tests at 42.95. He hit 16 tons and 28 fifties. The southpaw also scored 1,554 ODI runs at 42 and 241 T20I runs at 26.77.