Australia set the tone on the first day of the three-match series against Pakistan, amassing 346 runs for the loss of five wickets on Thursday against the inexperienced Pakistani spinners, led by David Warner, who celebrated his final Test series with a beautiful century.
Warner’s first Test century in a year, scoring 164 runs off 211 balls, supported skipper Pat Cummins’ choice to bat first on a difficult wicket. The 37-year-old Warner struggled against Pakistan’s bowlers in the first few sessions before being removed in the last stages of the match, caught at deep square leg. Warner will retire following this final Test in his home city of Sydney. Throughout his innings, he hit four sixes and sixteen boundaries.
After an outstanding opening day of competition for Australia, Marnus Labuschagne was undefeated.
Pakistan used the pace of Shaheen Afridi (2 wickets for 63 runs) and Khusdil Shahzad (1 wicket for 62 runs) in their squad as they went into the Test match without their specialist spinner.
It’s important to remember that they had two chances to fire Warner but failed. Sarfaraz Ahmed missed a tough stumping opportunity shortly before Warner scored his 150th Test century, and Shahzad dropped a catch at mid-on after Warner completed his 26th century.
Pakistan took three wickets in the last session, which was successful for them. Shahzad attempted an aggressive shot against Warner and got Steven Smith caught for 31 runs. He also dismissed Travis Head for 40 runs.
Following his two centuries against South Africa in Melbourne last year, Warner has been under fire for his lacklustre performance in Test cricket.
In the opening session, he and Usman Khawaja combined for a century partnership and scored 117 runs off of zero damage.
Warner took just 41 balls to get his fifty, but after lunch he slowed down. With a boundary off Jamali to complete his sixth Test century against Pakistan, he scored 125 from 199 balls and celebrated with his signature leap.
Shaheen Shah Afridi of Pakistan left before Khawaja, who played with aggression until he was overtaken. Labuschagne received a failed LBW report about Faheem Ashraf.
Warner took a conservative approach to the Test at first, partnering with Khawaja for a quick 14 runs in the first over following lunch. They reached 50 runs in the tenth over, and Warner hit his fifty in the fifteenth over, scoring a boundary in forty-one balls against Faheem Ashraf.
The “we’re all equals” human rights slogan on Khawaja’s shoes was forbidden from being worn, therefore he had to wear a black band in its place. Khawaja’s goal to draw attention to the innocent lives lost in the Israel-Hamas war prompted the International Cricket Council to step in on Wednesday.
Australia, the defending World Test champions, prevailed as expected, and Marsh and colleague Cameron Green were kept in their positions. Nathan Lyon, a front-line spinner, is coming back from an injury that had prevented him from reaching 500 Test wickets, where he is currently four wickets short.
The fourth Test at Optus Stadium was played in front of a freshly erected three-tiered hill that resembled the famous grassy fields of WACA. Despite a marketing drive to increase attendance, the crowd remained relatively low, reaching 16,259 supporters, amid rising shadows as.
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As soon as the three-match series begins, Pakistan’s chances of ending their run of fourteen straight Test match defeats in Australia are slim. Shan Masood, the new captain, had a difficult start as his team’s poor performance on the pitch soon sapped his hope.
There was a hint of bounce and velocity at times because of the deliveries bowled, and there was some grass showing on the surface. The fast bowlers from Pakistan, though, were not always bowling on the correct lengths, and Warner had issue with a lot of full deliveries.