Know reason why Usman Khawaja was forced to remove sticker from his bat during New Zealand vs Australia in first Test match
Usman Khawaja (Source: X)
In the ongoing Test match between New Zealand and Australia, on Day 3 in Basin Reserve at Wellington, Australian opener Usman Khawaja had a crack in his bat and changed his bat in the first session of the match. Matthew Renshaw came into the field with few bats as Usman Khawaja picked a bat a with dove logo with an olive branch. He was forced to remove the sticker before he could bat.
In the Test series against Pakistan in 2023-2024 the Apex Cricket Board banned the use of stickers as it raised awareness for war in Gaza. Due to ‘political protest’ he was not granted permission to use the sticker. There were various meetings held but favour turned out to be against the use of stickers.
Before resuming his batting Matthew Renshaw peeled off the sticker from the bat. However, in the second innings of the Test match, Usman Khawaja managed to get 28 runs before getting out to Glenn Phillips. Due to Glenn Phillips’ heroics bowling Australia were all-out for 164 runs. While pacer Matt Henry also picked three wickets.
New Zealand back in the game
Earlier, Nathan Lyon who came as night watch scored 41 runs before getting out. Cameron Green who scored a century in the first innings was dismissed by Glenn Phillips on 34 runs. Meanwhile, six Australia batters failed to score in double-digit runs as New Zealand made a comeback in the Test match. But Australia managed to put a score of 369 runs on the scoreboard. New Zealand lost two quick wickets, opener Tom Latham and Kane Williamson.
While there is still hope for New Zealand to chase down the score as Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra are still bating on the crease. New Zealand still have seven wickets in hand on a score of 106 runs as they aim to win the first Test match.
