Australian openers David Warner and Mitchell Marsh have blasted hundreds in the ongoing 2023 World Cup clash against Pakistan at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The Men in Yellow have stormed past the 200-run mark without even losing a wicket as they pursue a target of over 400 after Pakistan captain Babar Azam put them into bat.
Pakistan, putting Australia into bat after winning the toss, had little going their way, headlined by Usama Mir dropping Warner off Shaheen Shah Afridi's bowling in the 5th over of the innings. The left-hander was also dropped by Abdullah Shafique, albeit after his ton, but it went into the boundary.
Warner reached the magical three-figure mark in the 31st over of the innings by nudging a single to long-on. He did his trademark celebratory leap, followed by the 'Pushpa' celebration, putting Australia in cruise control.
Mitchell Marsh scores his 2nd ODI ton:
In the same over, Marsh also reached his 2nd ODI hundred, with a boundary in the cover region. The West Australian's only 50-over international hundred before this came against India in Sydney back in 2016.
He also became one of the few players to hit a World Cup hundred on his birthday. Afridi eventually broke the colossal 259-run stand as Marsh edged one to fine leg, with Mir holding on to a sharp low chance. It will be interesting to see whether Pakistan can restrict Pat Cummins and co. to an achievable score on the track.
