David Warner’s onslaught on Pakistan continued in the second session of the first Test at the Optus Stadium on Thursday.
At the end of the second session, Australia posted a total of 210/3 on the board, with Warner and vice-captain Steve Smith unbeaten with scores of 111(149) and 21(34).
Warner raised the temperature in Perth by raising his bat for a scintillating ton which has kept Australia in the driver’s seat for the majority of the day.
He continues to defy his critics, especially his former teammate, Mitchell Johnson who questioned his position in the team before the beginning of the match.
Pakistan managed to put a cap on the leaking runs in comparison to the first session, as Australia posted 93 runs after losing two wickets.
Marnus Labushagne and Usman Khawaja were the only casualties throughout the 25 overs that were bowled in the session.
Faheem Ashraf removed Marnus for 16 and Khawaja (41) fell short of a deserved half-century by Pakistan’s ace Shaheen Afridi.
Earlier in the innings, after Australia skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and decided to bat, the hosts didn’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 210/2 (David Warner 111*, Usman Khawaja 41; Faheem Ashraf 1-44) vs Pakistan.
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