Usman Khawaja continued his relationship with SCG and achieved his third consecutive Test 100 at the venue, 13th overall, as Australia continued to push their advantage on the slower SCG surface. South Africa had his rain-shortened day one he finished on the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne, but the second was over as Khawaja and Steve Smith built his third wicket stand of his 100+. We were unable to move forward early on. After his first century at Khawaja, Steve Smith hit his 95-ball 50. The pair scored 119 runs in 36 overs in the session, leading Australia to 266 for him.
After his first 10 overs (including his four torrid overs for Anrich Nortje) failed to produce a breakthrough, Dean Elgar switched to a spin by his Keshav Maharaj. The off-spinners almost found their way as Usman Khawaja took a bit of a cheeky drive. But unfortunately for Elgar, he narrowly missed the cover. In his next over, Spinner was picked up by Kawaja and shimmyed at once for a long off of six overs. SCG’s surface was slow, but he didn’t give South Africa a vicious turn that pushed back two batters.
Steve Smith has been slow but steady since the start of the day, and after his drink broke, he challenged Maharajji and quickly transitioned into his thirties. He also used a sweep against Simon Hamer’s full length, with a spinner pulling back a length and Smith deploying a pull shot when he reached 50.
With him less than ten minutes left in the session, Elgar took a new ball as soon as it became available and threw it to Nortje. Smith and Khawaja overcame this challenge, leading home his side to lunch unscathed on the second morning.
Brief scores: Australia 266/2 (Usman Khawaja 108*, Steve Smith 59*, Marnus Labuschagne 79; Anrich Nortje 2-39) vs South Africa