USMAN Khawaja went into the first Test against Pakistan with a high score of 26 on Asian soil.

He will finish it as the first Australian opener since Shane Watson in 2010 to have passed 50 in both innings of a Test on the continent.

Having enjoyed another fruitful start with Aaron Finch, the left-hander rescued the tourists on day four in Dubai after yet another worrying collapse.

Usman Khawaja with 50s in both innings. The last Australian opener to do it in Asia was Shane Watson in Mohali in 2010. #PakvAus

— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) October 10, 2018 Marsh Bros. rolled for ducks

Australia slid from 0-87 to 3-87 in a flash on Wednesday, with Mohammad Abbas accounting for Finch for 49 and both Marsh brothers for ducks. It looked set to be a repeat of day three when Australia lost on ten for 60, but this time around Khawaja and Travis Head had other ideas.

The pair put on an unbeaten 49-run stand to see Australia to stumps at 3-136 in pursuit of 462 to win. Out for a duck in the first innings, Head survived on lbw appeal to avoid suffering a pair on debut, and made it to the close of play on 34. Khawaja was not out on 50, having been dropped by Asad Shafiq in the slips off Yasir Shah’s bowling late in the day,

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No Test side has ever successfully chased a fourth-innings target greater than 418 anywhere in the world, and Ausrtalia’s greatest chase in Asia is 307. That was against Bangladesh in 2006, and it was also the longest Australia has ever batted in a fourth innings in Asia. The Australians batted for 107 overs on that occasion. They have already faced 50 this time around, and can expect at least 90 more on Thursday.

Head said it had been tough going for Australia’s batsmen with Abbas generating significant reverse-swing and Pakistan’s spinners capitalising on a deteriorating pitch. Lyon equals Lee

“It’s a really big first hour tomorrow morning for Usman and myself to get in and build a partnership,” he said.

“I think the whole dressing room believes that we’re capable of batting the day. We’ve been really good in the last month. The tour match showed that on a spinning wicket, we were able to build big partnerships and bat for long periods of time.”

Australia’s twin collapses in Dubai follow similar capitulations in Dhaka, Bangalore and Galle over the past two years.

Serious questions are bound to be asked of the decision to overlook Matthew Renshaw and Glenn Maxwell, both of whom have been exposed to Asian conditions at Test level and piled on runs in the last Sheffield Shield season. Pakistan earlier declared at 6-181 in their second innings, extending their lead after inflicting a dramatic first-innings Australian batting collapse. Tim Paine’s men were dismissed for 202 in a woeful capitulation after Finch and Khawaja’s 142-run opening stand.

Pakistan resumed at 3-45 on Wednesday.

Left-arm spinner Jon Holland snared two wickets to finish with 3-83.
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