David Warner's 5 best Test knocks against Pakistan
Veteran Australian opener David Warner couldn't have asked for a better start to his farewell series in Test cricket with a sensational 164 against Pakistan in the first Test at Perth. There has been a lot of talk about Warner wanting to hang up his boots in red-ball cricket in the final game of the series in Sydney and it seems like he is on track to pull the curtain down on an incredible Test career.
Warner seems to just love playing Pakistan and his incredible record against this particular opposition speaks volumes about the same. In just 11 Tests against Pakistan, the southpaw has scored a staggering 1417 runs at an outstanding average of 88.56 with as many as six centuries to his name, one of which is a triple ton.
On that note, let's take a look at five of David Warner's best knocks against Pakistan in Tests:
#5 133, Dubai, 22nd October 2014
Pakistan beat Australia by a resounding margin of 221 runs in the first Test at Dubai back in 2014 when the Aussies toured the UAE. Hundreds from Sarfaraz Ahmed and Younis Khan set Pakistan on their way to a massive first-innings score of 454 and the Aussies always seemed to be playing catch-up.
However, David Warner stood out with a fantastic knock of 133 in what seemed to be an innings where he was the only Australian batter who had any answers to Pakistan's spin threat. While Australia lost the game, Warner showed glimpses of what was about to come for almost the next decade.
#4 144, Melbourne, December 26, 2016
Pakistan had a great start to the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne as they scored 443/9 in the first innings, While it seemed that they were on the front foot after that effort, Australia fought back with a sensational first-innings performance of their own.
David Warner scored a quickfire 144 off just 143 balls and Steve Smith remained unbeaten on 165* as the Aussies posted a mammoth 624/8. Pakistan were bundled out for just 163 as they lost the game incredibly by an innings and 18 runs despite that performance in the first innings.
#3 154, Brisbane, November 21, 2019
The Brisbane Test in 2019 was another game in which Australia beat Pakistan by an innings and was another occasion where David Warner was the Asian nation's tormenter. The visitors were just bowled out for 240 in their first innings and the Aussies took the opportunity to bat them out of the Test match.
Warner initially gave a mammoth 222-run opening stand with Joe Burns and then Marnus Labuschagne joined to pile more misery on the visitors. Warner's 154 and Labuschagne's 185 were enough to put Australia miles ahead in the game and Pakistan played catch-up, eventually losing by an innings and five runs.
#2 164, Perth, December 14, 2023
David Warner had been pretty vocal about wanting to end his Test career in front of his home crowd in Sydney against Pakistan next month. However, former Australian speedster Mitchell Johnson wrote a rather spicy column, questioning Warner's wish and whether he deserved to play the farewell Test.
With so many speculations around merit, Warner was able to silence his critics with a sensational knock of 164. His knock has put Australia once again in the ascendancy in the ongoing Test match and has silenced all the debate about whether he will get the farewell in Sydney on merit.
#1 335*, Adelaide, November 20, 2019
David Warner's highest Test score also came against Pakistan, in an innings that is arguably one of the greatest played by an Australian in Test history. He scored 335 runs in just 418 balls and it was simply nothing that the opposition could do about.
Once again, it was his mammoth partnership with Marnus Labuschagne that batted Pakistan out of the game. The visitors conceded another innings defeat to Australia, this time by an innings and 48 runs.