Although the Pakistan team lost the recent Test series against Australia, they managed to win hearts with their continuous gesture of support for David Warner throughout the third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The Australia star brought down curtains on his illustrious Test career after the third Test and Pakistan players made sure to give him a fitting farewell. In both the innings of the Test, Pakistan players gave David Warner a guard of honour. They also made sure to congratulate him and shake his hands after he was dismissed in the second innings and left the Test arena for the final time.
Pakistan were not done yet. At the post-match presentation ceremony, their captain Shan Masood came up with a heartwarming gesture. After talking about the game, he called David Warner on the stage and handed him Babar Azam’s jersey signed by all the players.
“We want to give a token of appreciation and a parting gift to David Warner,” said Shan Masood.
Watch:
Shan Masood, on behalf of the Pakistan team, gifts Babar Azam's signed playing top to David Warner 🤝 #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/MCGUDQ9Bqv
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) January 6, 2024
David Warner stars in his final Test:
Earlier in the game, David Warner starred with the bat, scoring an entertaining fifty to help Australia recover from a shaky start and chase down 130 runs with ease in the end. Opener Usman Khawaja was dismissed by spinner Sajid Khan for a six-ball duck. David Warner, however, did not let Pakistan take advantage of the early breakthrough.
He and Marnus Labuschagne went on to score half-centuries and shared a 119-run stand for the second wicket to all but seal the game for their team. Warner was looking set to hit the winning runs but was dismissed by Sajid when his team needed only 11 runs to win. He scored 57 runs off 75 balls in his final Test knock.
A standing ovation for a sensational career! 👏👏👏#PlayOfTheDay | @nrmainsurance | #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/HPgvIXFoEh
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 6, 2024
After Warner’s departure, Labuschagne and Steve Smith scored the required runs. The latest win means Australia have now won 17 Tests in a row at home against Pakistan and have clean swept the last six Test series at home against the Asian team. Pakistan’s last Test victory in Australia came way back in 1995.