Australia reached 346 for five against Pakistan
On the first day of the three-match series on Thursday, Australia reached 346 for five against Pakistan’s inexperienced bowlers thanks to a brilliant century by David Warner in his final Test series. Captain Pat Cummins made the right call by batting first on a hard, bounce-y pitch, as Warner scored a commanding 164 off 211 balls, his first century in a Test match in a year.
Before he gave up at deep square leg in the final hour of play, the 37-year-old David Warner, who will retire following the final Test in his birthplace of Sydney, made Pakistan struggle in the first several sessions. 16 fours and 4 sixes were hit by him. After a fantastic opening day for Australia, Alex Carey had 14 not out and Mitchell Marsh was undefeated at 15 on his home pitch.
Without a specialist spinner going into the Test match, Pakistan gave debuts to fast bowlers Aamer Jamal (2 for 63) and Khurram Shahzad (1 for 62). More significantly, they let two chances to fire Warner pass. Warner achieved his 26th Test century, but Shahzad dropped an overhead ball at mid-on, and Sarfaraz Ahmed mishandled a tough stumping opportunity right before David Warner reached 150.
Pakistan took three wickets in the previous session, which was their most fruitful time. Steven Smith was caught behind by Shahzad for 31 after a delivery that shaped away, and Warner and Travis Head went for strong shots against Jamal on 40. David Warner was attacked for being given a chance in the Perth Test, as he had been struggling in Test cricket since his double century against South Africa in Melbourne last year.
However, the left-hander bounced back magnificently. During their century stand in the opening session, when they thumped to 117 for no loss, he and Usman Khawaja, with 41, were merciless. Warner took just 41 balls to get his half-century, but after lunch he slowed down. With an upper cut four from Jamal to score his sixth Test century against Pakistan off 125 balls, he celebrated with his signature leap.
David Warner’s aggressiveness overshadowed Khawaja until Pakistan’s main man, Shaheen Shah Afridi, emerged victorious after bowling 13 of the team’s first 32 overs. After lunch, Afridi got a hint of Khawaja’s outside edge. On 16th March, Marnus Labuschagne attempted an unsuccessful lbw referral against seamen Faheem Ashraf.
According to the video, the ball would have collided with his leg stump. David Warner had already entered the Test match with a limited-overs mentality. He and Khawaja, donning a black armband, got things started by hitting 14 off Afridi’s opening over. They reached fifty in the tenth over, and Warner reached his fifty-score in the fifteenth over, off forty-one balls, with a boundary smash against Faheem Ashraf.
After hitting 11 boundaries in an innings, David Warner moved even further into one-day mode a few overs later when he ducked and flipped a pitch from outside off stump way over the fine-leg boundary for his maiden six. Khawaja wore a black armband since he was not permitted to wear shoes bearing the humanitarian statement “All lives are equal.”
After Khawaja revealed his intention to use his shoes to draw attention to the innocent lives lost in the Israel-Hamas conflict, the International Cricket Council stepped in on Wednesday. The world champions in Test cricket are the Australians. Pakistan is now in its second Test series this year and hasn’t won a Test match in Australia since 1995.
Royal Antwerp Shocked the World with a 3-2 Victory Against Barcelona
