When David Warner Scored Test Hundred Before Lunch Against Pakistan

image-lr3601hmDavid Warner (Twitter)

David Warner fittingly ended his long Test career on home turf at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground against Pakistan, a venue and opposition which were always fruitful for the extravagant Australian opening batter. 

As many as 13 of Warner's 112 Tests for the reigning World Test Championship (WTC) winners arrived versus the Asian Giants, in which he plundered a mammoth 1,552 runs in 22 innings at an average of 73.90 and strike-rate of 73.86. 

Six of the explosive left-hander's 26 centuries in Test match cricket came against Pakistan alone with one of those attaining a special place in the cricketer's illustrious career in the longest version. 


Warner's Test Ton Before Lunch At SCG

It was against Pakistan at the SCG back in the 2017 New Year's Test that the 37-year-old recorded a Test hundred before lunch on Day 1. Warner pulled off a remarkable feat with an enterprising 78-ball hundred versus the hapless visiting team attack. 

The astonishing innings of 113 off 95 balls saw Warner dispatch the Pakistani bowling line-up featuring the pace trio of Mohammad Amir, Imran Khan and Wahab Riaz and experienced spinner Yasir Shah for 17 fours. 

Imposing himself on the opposition from word go, the aggressive left-hander batted at a strike-rate of 118.94 against the new ball on a fresh SCG pitch and completely dented the Pakistan spirits even before the first break in play for the five-day fixture. 

Warner became the first batter in Test cricket to produce a hundred before the first break in Australia and sixth overall in the history of the format. 

Victor Trumper in the 1902 Ashes Test in Manchester was the first player to achieve this feat, followed by Charles Macartney in 1926 and Sir Don Bradman in the 1930 Leeds Tests, respectively. 

The Australian trio was joined in the list by Pakistan's Majid Khan back in 1976-77 in Karachi versus New Zealand. 

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan also recorded a Test century before lunch on Day 1 in Bangalore during Afghanistan's inaugural Test match in June 2018.