David Warner Beats Sachin Tendulkar In 'This' Unique Century Record
David Warner in action against SA in second ODI (Twitter)
David Warner unleashed 106 elegant runs against South Africa in the second ODI of their ongoing five-match series. His innings paved way for a huge Australian total, as they mounted 392-8 from their 50 overs upfront. The 36-year-old last scored an ODI ton back in November 2022, thus ending his nine-month drought in the format.
Remarkably, Warner also displaced all-time great Sachin Tendulkar for a huge world record through the course of his Bloemfontein blitzkrieg.
Watch: David Warner celebrates drought-ending ODI ton
David Warner registers record ton as an opener
David Warner’s 106 against South Africa in the second match marked his 20th ODI century, and his 46th across all international formats. Unsurprisingly, the elegant southpaw registered each of those hundreds while opening the batting for Australia.
His latest blitzkrieg in Bloemfontein took him past former Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar to become world’s highest century-maker as an opener. Tendulkar, who piled up 100 international centuries across formats, made 45 of them as Team India opening batsman during his playing days.
As it stands at the moment, David Warner is world cricket’s most decorated opener, at least century wise. Following his record knock against South Africa, here is a look at top five opening batsmen in the world with most international hundreds to their name:
| Batsman | Centuries as an opener |
|---|---|
| David Warner | 46 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 45 |
| Chris Gayle | 42 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya | 41 |
| Matthew Hayden | 40 |
In addition, David Warner also became the third quickest ODI batter to get to 20 centuries in the format. He soared past AB de Villiers (175 innings) and current Indian captain Rohit Sharma (183 innings) by achieving the feat in his 142nd innings. Hashim Amla (108 innings) and batting legend Virat Kohli (133 innings) continue to remain the two fastest batters in history to do so.
Earlier this month, the left-hander was designated to represent Australia alongside 14 other members in next month’s 2023 World Cup in India. The seasoned campaigner will continue to bat at his usual position with Travis Head in the tournament, where they will face hosts India upfront on October 8 in Chennai.
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