On the first morning in Perth, the hosts, propelled by David Warner’s unbeaten 72, placed Pakistan under pressure, which was a difficult beginning to their tour of Australia.
Having elected to play, Australia initially experienced minimal distress, primarily due to Shaheen Afridi’s inability to establish a rhythm with the new ball. While Khurram Shahzad, making his debut, composed a few compact overs, Afridi, in pursuit of victims, was culpable of spraying the ball.
This enabled an enthusiastic Warner to commence his final Test series in an ideal fashion, with an abundance of targets for the takers. Warner, for his part, maintained the strain on the bowlers and attacked effectively. He reached his 37th fifty in Tests in a flash by striking three fours in an over by Faheem Ashraf. With only 41 balls expended, Australia were able to dictate the strokes.
In perfect opposition to Warner’s belligerent was a composed Usman Khawaja, who remained unfazed by the accumulation of dot balls. On twenty-one, he was fortunate to remain alive as Abdullah Shafique failed to make a high catch while returning from the slide cordon.
During his return spell, Shaheen Afridi’s LBW appeal was declined by Warner, who then increased the tension with an audacious six off a length ball. This further propelled Australia’s offensive fervor during the lunch break, positioning them favorably to amass a substantial total.
Brief Scores: Australia 117/0 (David Warner 72*) vs Pakistan
