David Warner headlined the opening day of the Test series between Pakistan and Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth. The opening batter, playing his final Test series, smashed 164 runs during his marathon stay in the middle facing 211 balls with 16 fours and four sixes to his name. He was instrumental in Australia's aggressive charge in the first session but the left-hander stayed strong even as wickets fell around him throughout the day.
During his knock, Warner also created a few records going past Inzamam-ul-Haq in terms of scoring Test centuries. The southpaw brought up his 26th Test ton in the second session which was also his 49th ton in international cricket. Meanwhile, Warner also trumped India legend Virender Sehwag in the list of most runs scored against Pakistan in Tests. While Sehwag had amassed 1276 runs in 14 innings against the arch-rivals, Warner has now smashed 1417 runs in 17 innings at an average of 88.56 with 335* being his highest score.
Moreover, Warner also went past Matthew Hayden and Michael Clarke in the list of most runs scored for Australia in Tests. He has now amassed 8651 runs in 110 Tests (200 innings) at an average of 45.05 while Hayden and Clarke had scored 8625 and 8643 runs respectively during their illustrious careers.
Most runs for Australia in Tests
| Players |
Runs scored |
| Ricky Ponting |
13378 |
| Allan Border |
11174 |
| Steve Waugh |
10927 |
| Steve Smith |
9351 |
| David Warner |
8651 |
As for the match, Pakistan did well in the final session to pick up wickets at regular intervals but the bowlers didn't get help from their fielders early on in the day with multiple catches dropped including that of Warner who punished them. Aamer Jamal was the most successful bowler picking up two wickets but they could've picked more if not for the lapses in the field. Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey are batting in the middle currently as Australia ended the day at 346/5 after 84 overs as they will look to post more than 450 runs on the board. On the other hand, Pakistan will need early wickets on day two as the second new ball is just four overs old.
Brief Scores
Australia 346/5 after 84 overs (D Warner 164; A Jamal 2/63)
