Australia v India, 1st Test: David Warner lifts the Aussies to 113/2 at lunch
Adelaide, Dec 9 - Opener David Warner's belligerent knock of unbeaten 73-ball 77 helped Australia reach 113 for two by lunch on day one of the first Test against India at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday.
After Australian skipper Michael Clarke won the toss and decided to bat, the home team got off to a flying start thanks to the left-handed Warner. The 28-year-old tore the Indian bowling apart in the first four overs and helped the team reach 40 in only four overs.
After medium pacer Mohammed Shami conceded just two runs in the first over to the other Australian opener Chris Rogers (9), Warner milked three boundaries through cover, point and gully in the second over, bowled by Varun Aaron to make his intentions clear.
He thrashed Shami in the next over for three more boundaries and continued to collect fours regularly, forcing stand-in skipper Virat Kohli to replace an erratic Aaron with Ishant Sharma in the sixth over.
Ishant responded to the challenge brilliantly, taking the wicket of Rogers. The batsman lost his wicket while trying to cover drive a delivery which teasingly moved away from him. He played it to the waiting hands of Shikhar Dhawan at second slip.
Shane Warner (14) joined Warner in the middle with the team's score reading 50/1, but the right-hander didn't last long as he guided an Aaron delivery to Dhawan while attempting a slice towards point.
Despite two wickets tumbling in front of him, Warner remained his usual self and reached his fifty with a pull off Aaron in the 15th over.
Skipper Clarke was unbeaten on 14 at the other end.
Earlier, a rousing 63-second standing ovation marked the start of the match as a tribute to Phillip Hughes, who died on November 27 after being hit by a bouncer during a domestic match.
Both teams wore black armbands in memory of the 25-year-old Hughes, who was batting on an individual score of 63 when a Sean Abbot bouncer hit him on the neck at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on November 25 before passing away two days later.
The Adelaide Oval crowd stood in silence as Richie Benaud gave a stirring video tribute to Hughes on the big screen. The crowd then erupted into applause for 63 seconds.