Warner's carnage in Perth leaves Pak baffled as Aus post 117 (Day 1, Lunch)
His half-volley shot in Faheem Ashraf's over was arguably the shot of the day
David Warner and Usman Khawaja (Photo: cricket.com.au)
PERTH [Australia]: David Warner's aggressive stance combined with Usman Khawaja's sturdy approach allowed Australia to dominate the first session of the first Test against Pakistan at the Optus Stadium on Thursday. At the end of the first session, Australia posted a score of 117/0 in 25 overs, with the opening pair of Warner and Khawaja unbeaten at 72(67) and 37(84) respectively.
Since Australia skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and decided to bat, the hosts haven't put a single foot wrong in the first 25 overs of the day. It was a Warner show right from the off-set as he led the charge with the bat and bashed Pakistan's revamped pace set-up to race through the first session.
His half-volley shot in Faheem Ashraf's over was arguably the shot of the day. A single stroke foreshadowed the upcoming shower of runs that was going to come from the left-hander's bat. Khawaja was the one who set the tone of the game, which would witness the flow of runs at a brisk pace.
He smashed back-to-back fours in the first over by the newly crowned Test vice-captain, Shaheen Afridi.
Warner, who is playing the final Test series of his career, joined the party and struck back-to-back fours in Shaheen's over of the day, which resulted in the star pacer leaking 31 runs in just four overs. The T20I approach allowed Australia to reap rewards for the hosts as they raced to the 50-run mark in the first 10 overs.
Faheem Ashraf came into the attack and was smashed all over the field by the versatile Warner. Warner accumulated three boundaries in a single over, forcing Shan Masood to tweak his plans. Desperate for a breakthrough, Pakistan burned their review following an LBW appeal against Warner.
The initial reaction clearly indicated that the ball was going to miss the stums by a fair amount of distance and that turned out to be the final case. With a four, he raised his bat for a well-deserved half-century. In the coming overs, Optus Stadium could only witness and feel mesmerised by the left-hander's breathtaking display.
Warner's carnage in Perth continued as he dispatched the ball well past the boundary, inflicting further woes on Shaheen. Australia ended the session on a high note as the Aussies posted 117/0 in 25 overs.
Brief Score: Australia 117/0 (David Warner 72* and Usman Khawaja 37*) vs Pakistan.