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David Warner trended for around two hours on social media as he scored a brilliant 164 (211) against Pakistan on Day 1 of the first Test in Perth on Thursday. It was his 26th Test century and 49th across formats. It was also his fifth three-figure score in the last six Test innings against Pakistan Down Under.
The left-handed opener, under scrutiny after Mitchell Johnson's criticism, started brilliantly against an inconsistent Shaheen Shah Afridi. As the Pakistani pacers failed to gather themselves in the first session, Warner brought out some stunning cut and pull shots, including a big one over square leg against Afridi off a good length delivery.
The visiting bowlers struggled against the southpaw's aggression as he reached his 100 off just 125 balls. Warner had his share of luck with a dropped chance at long-on and a missed stumping when he was at 141 but he made it count by scoring almost half of Australia's runs. When he got out, the second-best Aussie score was 40.
Fans on X took potshots at Johnson and Pakistan. Check the best reactions here:
"No better way to silence criticism" - David Warner
Speaking soon after his century in a mid-session break, Warner underlined the importance of building partnerships in the middle and replying to criticism with runs.
"It is my job to come out here and score runs and that was from the get-go to put pressure on the Pakistan bowlers. I got a couple of partnerships going, first with Uzzie (Khawaja) and then with Smudge (Smith). It's just another Test match hundred for Australia and it is something that we try our best to do when we walk out there," Warner told Adam Gilchrist in an interview at Tea.
"It feels great, there is a lot of runs out there to be put on the board for the bowlers to bowl at. There is always going to be criticism, and you gotta take that and no better way to silence it than to put runs on the board," he concluded.
Catch all the live action from the Test here.
