PERTH, (Reuters) – David Warner surprised even himself with his scoring rate as he smashed the quickest ever century by a test opener in a match against India yesterday.
The 25-year-old from Sydney took just 69 balls to hit his second century in his first five tests.
“When I was on 80-odd I had only faced 40-odd balls and I was actually shocked,” the confident lefthander told a news conference after the joint fourth fastest century by any test batsman.
“I was looking at my strike-rate and I said this ain’t test cricket, this is something different.
“But it’s just how I approach the game. I showed intent and it paid off today but I’ve got to start off all over again tomorrow.”
Warner has long been an impressive, and quick scoring, batsmen in the shorter forms of the game but some critics doubted whether he would be able to make the transition to the test arena.
He put paid to those doubts when he carried his bat for 123 after a brilliant innings in a losing cause against New Zealand on a green pitch in Hobart last month.
Having helped Australia to get within 12 runs of India’s first innings tally without loss on the first day of the third test, though, Warner ranked yesterday’s innings the higher.
“If we’d won down in Hobart, it would probably be Hobart,” he said. “But this is a special achievement for me because I had doubts in my mind … and I turned it around and now I’m on a hundred.
“We’re 2-0 up in the series, so hopefully we can put four or 500 runs on the board, bowl them out again and win the series that way.”
EARLY BLOW
Warner’s innings, which included three sixes and 13 fours, was almost brought to an early end when he took a Umesh Yadav bouncer in the head. “You don’t really ever want to go off for anything … but I was fine, just a bit shaken up,” he said.
“I’ve got a nice golf ball on the back of my ear but that’s fine.”
Some lively onfield debates with India’s Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma also proved inspirational to Warner and his opening partner Ed Cowan, who finished the day 40 not out.
“A lot of teams know with myself and Ed, if you start having a go at us, we actually enjoy that,” said Warner, who will resume on 104 today.
“We love a little contest out there and we love to grind it back in their faces and, you know, that’s what we’ve done today.”
Scoreboard
India first innings
G. Gambhir c Haddin b Hilfenhaus 31
V. Sehwag c Ponting b Hilfenhaus 0
R. Dravid b Siddle 9
S. Tendulkar lbw Harris 15
V. Laxman c Clarke b Siddle 31
V. Kohli c Warner b Siddle 44
M. Dhoni c Ponting b Hilfenhaus 12
R Vinay Kumar lbw Starc 5
Z. Khan c Clarke b Hilfenhaus 2
Sharma c Haddin b Starc 3
U. Yadav not out 4
Extras: (b-2, lb-2, w-1) 5
Total: (all out, 60.2 overs) 161
Fall of wickets: 1-4 2-32 3-59 4-63 5-131 6-138 7-152 8-152 9-157
Bowling: Harris 18-6-33-1, Hilfenhaus 18-5-43-4, Starc 12.2-3-39-2 (w-1), Siddle 12-3-42-3.
Australia first innings
D. Warner not out 104
E. Cowan not out 40
Extras: (lb-3, w-2) 5
Total: (without loss, 23 overs) 149
To bat: S. Marsh, R. Ponting, M. Clarke, M. Hussey, B. Haddin, P. Siddle, R.Harris, M. Starc, B. Hilfenhaus.
Bowling (to date): Zaheer 7-1-44-0 (w-1), Yadav 6-1-42-0 (w-1), Vinay Kumar 4-0-31-0, Sharma 5-0-28-0, Sehwag 1-0-10-0.
Toss: Australia
Australia lead the four-match series 2-0.
