May 28 (CRICKETNMORE) - The winning feeling is back in Australian cricket and batsman Usman Khawaja knows their form is no fluke. Khawaja scored a fluent 89 as Australia continued their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup preparations in positive fashion, downing Sri Lanka by five wickets at the Hampshire Bowl.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
With a 3-2 series win in India also on their 2019 formbook, this upturn in performances has not come out of the blue.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Confidence is therefore high as the defending champions look to hold onto their crown, hopeful a positive dressing room can translate to victories on the biggest stage of all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“Behind the scenes we’ve put in a lot of hard work, you need that to be able to compete at this level,” said Khawaja.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“Everyone has put in a lot of effort. We had India over in our place for a series and while we lost, that was a big turning point for us.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“They’re one of the best sides and we gave them a run for their money. Then we went to India, lost the first two matches and went on to win the series. We always had the confidence we could do that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“Winning is a habit, we say that a lot among the team. We want to keep that going, we might have lost that before, but we might have found that again heading into the World Cup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“I know what it feels like when you’re losing and I know what it’s like when winning, it’s obvious which one you want.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“This time last year there was a lot of talk about our batting, everyone has their different plans – it’s just about winning games and we’re managing to do that.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Khawaja had a scare when a blow to the knee brought a premature end to his day in the field, recovering suitably to profit with the bat as Australia successfully chased 240.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Lahiru Thirimanne was the only other player in the match to pass 50 with Khawaja enjoying his spell as an opener, despite watching skipper Aaron Finch depart early.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The make-up of Australia’s top order remains up for discussion but whatever position the World Cup rookie takes, he remains happy to fulfil his role for the team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 32-year-old added: “I wasn’t thinking about securing an opening berth, we’ve looked to be clinical and not take it lightly. We’ve won three warm-ups here, and it was more about us continuing the winning ways in Dubai and India.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
“I was concentrating on contributing to that winning run – some things are just out of your control<\/p>\r\n\r\n