Veteran Australian opener David Warner stormed back into form with a sensational century against South Africa in the second ODI of the ongoing five-match series in Bloemfontein on Saturday, September 9. Warner was massively helped by Travis Head to get into his innings as the latter played in just one gear, smashing a 36-ball 64 as Australia raced off to 102 in just 10 overs.
Warner took some time to get into his innings but after Head departed he took on the lead role. Once he got to his fifty, Warner’s strokeplay got more fluent and he eased into his innings a bit more. Warner then worked at his own pace and with Marnus Labuschagne going great guns at the other end, he didn’t need to worry about the run rate and still was able to score his century in just 85 balls.
This was Warner’s 20th ODI century, his fifth against South Africa and he surpassed the likes of Babar Azam and Brian Lara on the list, who have 19th tons in 50-over format. This was also Warner’s 46th century as opener in international cricket, which is the most by an opening batter as he broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record, who has 45 tons batting at the top of the order.
Most centuries by Australian players in ODIs
30 – Ricky Ponting
20* – David Warner
18 – Mark Waugh
17 – Aaron Finch
16 – Adam Gilchrist
Most centuries in international cricket as an opener
46* – David Warner (Australia)
45 – Sachin Tendulkar (India)
42 – Chris Gayle (West Indies)
41 – Sanath Jayasuriya (Sri Lanka)
40 – Matthew Hayden (Australia)
39 – Rohit Sharma (India)
Most centuries by Australian players in ODIs
30 – Ricky Ponting
20* – David Warner
18 – Mark Waugh
17 – Aaron Finch
16 – Adam Gilchrist
Apart from Warner and Head, Josh Inglis smashed a 36-ball half-century while Labuschagne continued his brilliant form with an 80-ball hundred. Australia posted a huge score of 392 runs on the board, which is the highest at this venue and even though South Africa got off to a smacking start, losing three wickets in quick succession hasn’t helped them.
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