Veteran Australian opener David Warner scripted history in Australia’s World Cup 2023 opener against hosts Team India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday. After suffering a 2-1 series defeat at the hands of India in their final white-ball assignment before the World Cup, Pat Cummins and Co. resumed their rivalry with the Men In Blue in match No.5 of the showpiece event at the Chepauk.
Spearheading Australia’s batting lineup in its World Cup opener, Warner played a gritty knock although the senior Aussie batter failed to notch up his half-century. Warner creamed six fours in his 41-run knock off 52 deliveries. However, the senior batter achieved a massive feat in his first outing at the One Day International (ODI) World Cup in India.
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Warner breaks Tendulkar and De Villiers’ World Cup record
The Aussie opener became the fastest player to complete 1,000 runs in the 50-over edition of the ICC World Cup. Warner completed the historic feat in his 19th innings. Warner has surpassed batting legend Sachin Tendulkar and former South Africa skipper AB de Villiers as the iconic batters earlier held the joint record at the World Cup. Both Tendulkar and De Villiers achieved the feat in 20 innings. Batting icons Viv Richards and Sourav Ganguly achieved the same feat in 21 innings.
Opening the innings for the five-time champions, Warner completed the milestone in the seventh over bowled by pacer Hardik Pandya. Warner struck a boundary to complete 1000 runs at the ODI World Cup. Interestingly, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma can shatter Warner’s record in the same match at Chennai. The veteran Indian opener has amassed 978 runs in 17 innings at the World Cup.
Warner was dismissed by spinner Kuldeep Yadav in the 17th over of the Australian innings. Earlier, pace ace Jasprit Bumrah gave India a promising start by dismissing Mitchell Marsh for a six-ball duck. Bumrah became the first Indian bowler to dismiss an Aussie opener for a duck in the history of the ODI World Cup. Former India skipper Virat Kohli, who took the catch of the Aussie opener, eclipsed Anil Kumble by registering the most catches (by a non-wicketkeeper) for India in ODI World Cup history.
