Lunch precipitates Warner’s demise.

At the MCG, David Warner and Usman Khawaja effectively countered Pakistan’s initial advantage of tossing and bowling with dismal overheads. During the morning session, the duo was a mixture of cautious and comfortable. They appeared poised to lead Australia to the first break of the day without sustaining any damage. However, those plans were foiled by off spinner Agha Salman. Conversely, they made their way to lunch at 90 for 1.

Pakistan traveled to Melbourne with the intention of engaging in aggressive cricket and achieving a victory over Australia in their home turf. They executed an opportune initial action by winning the toss, as Pat Cummins also expressed his intention to bowl first.

With consideration for the weather forecast and the anticipated overcast conditions, Pakistan assembled a quartet of pacers for their team. When Shaheen Afridi received one ball to angle in and moved away just enough to square off Warner and induce an outside edge, they were on the verge of an early breakthrough. The ball deflected off Abdullah Shafique’s palms and landed directly on the ground. Even worse for Pakistan, the weather quickly improved, providing the two left-handers with comfort and the opportunity to play more expansive strokes and take greater risks during the post-drinks period of play. This was accompanied by bright sunlight.

By batting well outside the crease, Warner attempted to counteract any seam and swing movement, and he negotiated effectively, in particular with Mir Hamza, the new-ball companion of Pakistan’s Afridi. Even towards the end of the session, Afridi continued to bowl full-spin in an attempt to generate movement, but to no avail, as Khawaja executed the morning’s finest delivery: an exquisite straight drive for four.

The Australian openers’ fluidity after refreshments contributed to their 56 runs in 13 overs, up from 34 in the first fourteen. Warner was set to depart for lunch without a scratch, but Salman enticed the left-handed batsman into taking a subpar shot, which resulted in his dismissal. Contrary to the flow of play, Warner unhurriedly pursued a flighted delivery and ultimately obtained a wicket by nicking it. Babar Azam successfully completed the catch—there was no error at slip this time.