Khawaja, recalled at the expense of Shaun Marsh, came in at number three and struggled through an awkward phase against the West Indies pacemen.
West Indies captured the prized wicket of opener David Warner but Australia's batsmen held on to be 70-1 at lunch on the opening day of the second test in Melbourne on Saturday.
Warner was out for a quick-fire 23 attempting to slog paceman Jerome Taylor out of the ground before Joe Burns and the recalled Usman Khawaja provided stubborn resistance to the break. Burns was on 27, with Khawaja, back in the side after recovering from a hamstring injury, on 18 in front of a festive Boxing Day crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
West Indies captain Jason Holder won the toss and sent Australia in to bat on pitch expected to offer something for the bowlers early before flattening out. The start of play was delayed by an hour due to rain and a rampaging Warner appeared eager to make up for it, smashing fours from his first three balls off paceman Kemar Roach.
He then went after Jerome Taylor, smacking the quick to the fence twice to race to 23 off eight deliveries. Taylor hit back in his third over, however, firing in a short ball to force a miscued pull off Warner which Marlon Samuels did his best to drop at cover before clinching it on the third grab.
Khawaja, recalled at the expense of Shaun Marsh, came in at number three and struggled through an awkward phase against the West Indies pacemen. Burns was also lucky to survive a nick off Roach which fell just short of the slips shortly before the break.
Lambasted for their abysmal fielding in Hobart, the West Indies put in another ragged display early at the MCG, with players fumbling regularly and throwing wildly back to the stumps. West Indies went in with one change, with uncapped paceman Carlos Brathwaite coming for the injured Shannon Gabriel.
Khawaja's selection was Australia's only change from the team that thrashed the tourists by an innings and 212 runs at Bellerive Oval. The Queensland left-hander slotted back into number three in the batting order, with Australia captain Steve Smith dropping back down to his preferred number four position.
Australia are bidding to seal the three-match series with a game in hand.
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