Published 11:43 IST, December 1st 2019
Triple centurion Warner breaks his silence on Paine's call to declare
It was a treat for Test cricket fans at Adelaide on Saturday as David Warner mesmerized the audience with his maiden triple century in Test cricket against Pak
It was a treat for Test cricket fans at Adelaide on Saturday as David Warner mesmerized the audience with his maiden triple century in Test cricket while Pakistan were clueless about how to stop the run-machine. Warner started off the day for Australia on 154 and finished off unbeaten at 335 runs as Tim Panie declared the Australian innings. However, some fans were not happy with Paine declaring the innings while Warner looked like he would go past the 400 run mark to create history alongside the fact that Australia had 42 overs left to face. Fans took to social media to blame Paine for 'spoiling' the party for Warner and Australia. However, Warner had his say on Paine's call and said that the call to declare was decided much before.
Warner spills the beans on Paine's decision
Warner revealed that the team had looked at the weather for the next day and gave enough time for themselves, eventually reducing Pakistan to six wickets at the end of the day's play. With rain predicted for the next three days at Adelaide, it appears to be that Paine's call to declare was made keeping the weather in mind. As quoted by a sports portal, Warner revealed that he had asked Steve Smith about the number of overs Australia were going to get against Pakistan in the evening and that it was the ' perfect amount'. At Tea, Warner was told that the team would declare at 5.40 pm, following which he watched the clock continuously to make sure the team still stuck to the same plan.
Aussies dominate Pakistan
Australia's pace spearheaded Mitchell Starc wreaked havoc on the Pakistan batting line-up as the visitors were reduced to 96-6 at the end of the day's play. Australia declared their innings after posting a mammoth total of 589 runs, thanks to David Warner's maiden Test triple ton. Mitchell Starc was right on the money and struck gold in the fourth over as he got rid of Imam-ul-Haq. Starc then picked up two wickets off the 31st over to send Ifthikar Ahmed and Rizwan packing. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood grabbed one wicket each as Pakistan ended Day 2 on a very dry note, with just four wickets left.
Updated 12:02 IST, December 1st 2019