David Warner’s goodbye Test was like a fairy tale ending. The opener showed his class one last time with a fifty that won the match, and Australia got another win at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Pakistan had some good moments, but Australia was the better team and won all three games.
Warner was always making things interesting on the field. At the end of his Test career, he had scored the fifth most runs for Australia in that format. Warner hit 57 off of 75 balls until his fairy tale ended just after noon on the fourth day, leaving Australia 11 runs short of a win. Warner shook hands with the Pakistan team and waved his bat, which got loud cheers from the fans. However, Warner was later given out lbw by off-spinner Sajid Khan after a review.
Marnus Labuschagne scored 62 runs off 73 balls and was not out, as Australia easily reached their 130-run goal on a dry track that had uneven bounce and sharp turns. The home team played with purpose and scored more than five runs per over because the pitch looked better for batting than day three, when 15 wickets were lost. Warner and Labuschagne’s 119-run partnership with Aamer Jamal, who was Pakistan’s best bowler in the series but shockingly wasn’t used until after noon, was enough to beat them.
Warner played in 112 games, and in the last few innings, everyone was looking at him. Warner walked out to a loud cheer and hugged his starting partner and close friend Usman Khawaja for a long time before joining a Pakistani guard of honor. On the first ball, Sajid bowled for Pakistan and made a good impact with a sharp delivery that went over Khawaja’s bat. Sajid gave Pakistan new hope when he bowled Khawaja out lbw for a duck later in the over. This decision was upheld on review. People wondered if Warner would dig in or play in the aggressive way that he usually does. He hit Mir Hamza with a punch through cover when he skipped down the pitch at left-arm quick Mir Hamza. He then ran between the wickets to get back for a second.
Warner got to 50 off of 56 balls, and Australia only needed 39 runs after lunch. The only question left in the game was whether Warner would hit the last two runs to win it. Pakistan unsuccessfully appealed Sajid’s close lbw call on 53, and Labuschagne was dropped by captain Shan Masood at short midwicket, adding to their fielding problems that have been going on for the whole series.
Labuschagne was in great shape and scored his second fifty of the game. After Warner left, he hit the winning run, and Australia won the series by a sweep. None of the three Tests went to a fifth day.
