Classic Sheffield Shield innings: 'Invincible' Uzzie's wild chase

40-36; 35-31; 30-26; 25-21; 20-16; 15-11; 10-6

5. Usman Khawaja (Qld) 182no v SA, Feb 2014

Queensland won by five wickets

Usman Khawaja counts it among his finest few hours on a cricket field.

Six months on from being axed from the Test team during the 2013 Ashes – the third he had been dropped in what was then a fledgling nine-match career – he was offering selectors a stunning reminder of his capabilities.

It had been an up-and-down summer for the left-hander. After capping off an outstanding one-day tournament for Queensland with a match-winning 104 in the final against New South Wales, his Shield form had been patchy before Christmas, with a top score of 64 and an average of 31.88.

Image Id: DEF80D9BB2CC4BE2982FC410816853A0 Image Caption: Khawaja was in his second season at Queensland // Getty

In the Big Bash he had shown signs that perhaps his free-flowing best wasn't far away, and then Queensland reconvened for the Shield at the Gabba in February, to take on South Australia.

The Bulls sent the Redbacks in and despite two early wickets to James Hopes, the visitors recovered to post 403, largely thanks to a blazing 175 from Tom Cooper.

After lunch on day two, matters quickly became worse for Queensland. In 49.3 overs, they were skittled for 135, surrendering a 268-run first-innings lead to the South Australians, who then proceeded to gallop along at four an over before closing their innings midway through the third day at 6d-202.

Afterward, Hopes would call the declaration a "gift horse", but perhaps that was a comment made with the benefit of hindsight; in between, Queensland were confronted with a target of 471 – a total they hadn't managed in a first-class innings for five years, and one that, if achieved, would become the second-highest successful Shield run chase of all time.

"We definitely weren't thinking, We're gonna chase 470," Khawaja tells cricket.com.au. "We were just like, 'Alright, let's just bat and see what happens'.

"'Pomers' (Luke Pomersbach, 47) and 'Burnsy' (Joe Burns, 72) had a really good partnership to start off, and then I came in at the end of day three, still not thinking about the result at all."

Queensland had made their way to 2-170 at the close on day three, with Khawaja 26no and Nick Stevens 24no, and 301 still required.

Image Id: 594BA393CA8B4092A98B0468DD2D0EB9 Image Caption: Khawaja in full cry at the Gabba // Getty

The following morning, a challenging day-four wicket and some disciplined lines from SA made the going tough for the hosts.

"It was a grind," says Khawaja. "They bowled really well. We couldn't score runs, and you can't force the game at the Gabba because if a team bowls in good areas and you try to force it, you'll just end up nicking the ball.

"So we had to play hard, grinding cricket. Nick Stevens got out pretty early (for 25), so that first session, I was just saying to 'Foz' (Peter Forrest), 'Let's keep grinding here, just keep batting, don't worry about the scoreboard'.

"I think he scored at like 20 (strike-rate). But I just said to him, 'Just keep doing what you need to do for the team. After this session, we'll have two more sessions to bat, so just keep batting. We don't know what will happen'."

A mere 45 runs were scored before, leaving an improbable 256 still needed from the final two sessions. When Forrest fell after the interval for 35 from 155 balls, Khawaja received the impetus he needed from a positive Hopes, who quickly upped the scoring rate.

"Then I started scoring a bit more quickly too and I got my hundred just before tea," Khawaja adds. "But at the break I saw we still needed like 160 off 36 overs and I'm thinking, Jeez, that's really tough work.

"I just said, 'Alright Hopesy, let's just show some intent and see where we get to here', and Hopesy was like, 'Yep, sweet'."

Image Id: 056A994609174ABF9C534DEB525AD5E9 Image Caption: Khawaja with then Bulls skipper, James Hopes // Getty

Khawaja's century – his second for Queensland – had come from 238 balls, but with an asking rate of above 4.5 runs per over through the final session, he needed to switch gears. Which is exactly what he did.

"Honestly, I came out after tea, and I don't know what happened, but I couldn't miss the middle of the bat – I was absolutely crunching them," he laughs.

"They could bowl anywhere they wanted, and I was just smacking them for four."

As Khawaja found his happy place and the runs required dropped below 100, Hopes fell for a fine 58 from 63 balls. His replacement, Chris Hartley, had top scored with 33 in the first innings and immediately relished the challenge.

Meanwhile, Khawaja kept finding the boundary.

"I remember saying to Harts, 'I think I've got this, just give me strike', the 35-year-old recalls. "And he just gave me the strike.

"They'd bowl nice length balls that normally you'd leave and I was just blasting them on the up through cover for four.

"They'd bowl a bit shorter, I'd pull it, back cut … I just couldn't miss.

"There's not many times in your career that happens. I can't think of many other times that's happened – maybe a couple other times – but I just felt invincible."

Image Id: 53261EBB582B49BDAB4173514F95A2D3 Image Caption: Khawaja built a strong bond with wicketkeeper-batter Chris Hartley // Getty

With the target within touching distance, Khawaja – who by this stage had flown past 150 – felt what he thought was a twinge in his hamstring.

"I didn't realise but I'd torn my adductor," he says. "So I was leaning on my bat, I think we needed about 15 runs to win and 'Lovey' (martin Love, Qld physio) came on.

"I just said to him, 'I'll just try to slog, try to win this game'.

"So he went off and for the last 15-20 runs I was on one leg – I couldn't actually stand on two feet, so I was leaning on my bat and then they'd bowl, and I'd stand up and play a shot."

In that kind of touch, a one-legged Khawaja, with Hartley for company, was enough, and the left-hander fittingly flayed the winning runs through cover, sealing a remarkable triumph.

His last 82 runs had come from as many balls, while Queensland had scored 163 runs from 164 balls in the final session to win with 8.4 overs to spare.

"We went full berserk on them in that last session, and you would never ever have guessed that was how the game was going to end up after the first session (of day four) particularly," Khawaja says.

"We could've chased 500-plus, the way we finished up. But to do that with (Hopes and Hartley), both Queensland legends who I loved playing with, it was pretty special."

First inns: SA 403 (Cooper 175; Hopes 4-71)

Second inns: Qld 135 (Hartley 33; Mennie 3-31)

Third inns: SA 6d-202 (Ferguson 70no; Hopes 2-47)

Fourth inns: Qld 5-471 (Khawaja 182no; Sayers 1-69)