Sydney, Feb. 2 -- A dominant performance with the bat against Sri Lanka in Galle has left Australia with plenty of ponder ahead of the World Test Championship Final.

Stand-in Australia captain Steve Smith is backing in-form batter Usman Khawaja to prolong his international career and maintain his opening role for this year's ICC World Test Championship Final and upcoming Ashes series.

Khawaja scored his highest Test score during Australia's crushing victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test in Galle, with the left-hander contributing a vital innings of 232 to move into the top five leading run-scorers for the current World Test Championship cycle.

While Khawaja recently turned 38 and is facing a fresh battle from the likes of teenager Sa...