"I feel like this is a tougher day-five wicket than at Karachi" - Usman Khawaja confident of Australia winning in Lahore 

Australia's opening batter Usman Khawaja remains confident of winning on day five of the third Test against Pakistan in Lahore. The stylish left-handed batter believes the wicket at Gaddafi Stadium is far more challenging to bat on than the one in Karachi.

Australia skipper Pat Cummins declared bravely on day four, setting Pakistan 350 for victory in a day and a half. The home side has made a solid start to the chase, reaching 73-0 at stumps. The Australian bowlers tried hard to bag a breakthrough; however, they were unsuccessful.

Khawaja, who scored his second hundred of the series, stated that it's going to be challenging to bat on the final day and that the pace bowlers have a critical role to play. The veteran also stressed that the bowlers need to pitch the ball in the right areas.

"It's going to be very hard to bat on the last day. If we can get [the ball] reversing like we did in the first-innings, then we're right in this contest. It's really hard to score against the pace bowlers...so I'm not too worried about Pakistan chasing down the total. Anything's possible, but if you bowl consistently well then it's a very hard wicket to push the scoreboard moving forward. I feel like this is a tougher day-five wicket than at Karachi," the 35-year old stated, as quoted by Perth Now.

It's worth noting that Pakistan suffered a dramatic collapse in their first innings on day three, sliding from 214-2 to 268 all out in response to Australia's 391. Hence, Cummins and co. should sense that reverse swing will play a significant role on day five too.

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"We weren't sure whether we would be able to come to Pakistan at some stage" - Usman Khawaja

The Pakistan-born player admitted that a Pakistan victory would be very special and also reflected on a prolific series for him. The 35-year old said added:

"We weren't sure whether we would be able to come to Pakistan at some stage, but now we have and it's been a really good series. It's been fun, but you never expect these things. You just train hard and get the process well enough and hopefully you can achieve what I have in the last couple of weeks."

Khawaja, who replaced Marcus Harris at the top, has been prolific this year, having scored four hundreds. He has amassed 496 runs in this series, averaging a whopping 165.33.