ADELAIDE – An irrepressible David Warner smashed an unbeaten 335 onSaturday while Steve Smith became the fastest man to 7,000 Test runs asAustralia put Pakistan to the sword before declaring on day two of thesecond Test in Adelaide.
Skipper Tim Paine waved his players back into the pavilion when theyreached 589 for three ahead of the dinner break with Warner making the 10thhighest score ever in Test cricket.
His knock was one more than former captain Mark Taylor’s epic 334 againstPakistan in 1998 and the second best score by an Australian of all timeafter Matthew Hayden’s 380 against Zimbabwe in 2003.
Matthew Wade also remained unbeaten on 38.
Pakistan did have some success. After removing Marnus Labuschagne for 162in the opening session, they also bagged Smith, caught behind by MohammadRizwan off Shaheen Afridi for 36.
In making his runs, Smith — who had a rare failure in the first of thetwo-Test series at Brisbane — shattered a record that had stood since 1946.
He took a single off Muhammad Musa to reach 7,000 runs in his 126thinnings, taking possession of a mark held for 73 years by English greatWally Hammond who reached the milestone in his 131st innings.
Smith also moved past legendary countryman Donald Bradman’s 6,996 Test runsto become Australia’s 11th highest scorer.
The home team resumed the day-night second Test at 302 for one with Warneron 166 and Labuschagne 126, with the pair putting on another 67 runs beforePakistan finally got a breakthrough.
Skipper Azhar Ali took the new ball and Afridi clean-bowled Labuschagne ashe attempted a drive, just as he and Warner appeared set for another longday at the crease.
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The 25-year-old, who has come of age during the series, trudged back to thepavilion to a standing ovation after a classy 162, his second century in arow.
Their marathon 361-run partnership was a record second-wicket stand forAustralia against Pakistan and the highest ever in a pink-ball Test.
Just minutes later, the explosive Warner completed only the second Testdouble century of his career. Playing in his 81st Test, he reached 200 off260 balls with a single from Afridi, having clattered 23 fours along theway.
Pakistan thought they finally had Warner out on 226 when he was caught inthe gully off debutant Musa, only for their heads to drop when it wascalled a no-ball.
He made them pay, passing his previous highest Test score of 253, set inPerth in 2015, before reaching his 300 off 389 balls.
Smith, Australia’s saviour during the recent Ashes series against England,where Warner struggled, built a solid 36 before catching a thin edge on abig swing, with Rizwan taking a catch behind the wicket.
Pakistan have lost 13 consecutive Tests in Australia. -APP/AFP
