David Warner breaks Sachin Tendulkar's all-time record in international cricket as opener with century against South Africa

South Africa vs Australia 2nd ODI: David Warner broke several records with his 20th ODI century. This was his first ODI ton on South African soil after four years.

Arun Rawal

• Sat • 09 Sep 2023

Highlights:

David Warner scored his 20th ODI ton.David Warner completed 6,000 ODI runs as an opener.David Warner shared a record-breaking partnership with Travis Head.

David Warner regained his form ahead of the ODI World Cup 2023 with a century against South Africa in the second ODI of the five-ODI series at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein on September 9. Warner with his 20th ODI century broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most international (Tests, ODIs, and T20Is) centuries as an opener. This was Warner’s 46th century in international cricket as an opener.

After a silver duck in the first ODI of the series, Warner led the charge against South Africa and reached his century from 85 deliveries. He scored 106 runs from 93 balls including 12 fours and three sixes.

Warner left Pakistan skipper Babar Azam on the list of most ODI centuries. This was the left-handed batter's fifth ODI century against South Africa. He equalled Tendulkar's tally of most centuries against the Proteas.

Warner has the joint-most international hundreds among active players. Virat Kohli is on top with 76 international tons followed by Warner and Joe Root in second place.

During his century, he also completed 6,000 ODI runs as an opener. He achieved the milestone in 140 innings, the fourth-highest in ODI history as an opener. The record belongs to Indian skipper Rohit Sharma (121 innings) followed by South Africa's Hashim Amla (123 innings) and Tendulkar (133). Warner is also tied with Shikhar Dhawan (140 innings) in the fourth position.

Warner also became the second Australian opener to score 6,000 or more ODI runs. Only wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist has more runs as an Australian opener in the format. Gilchrist has scored 9,200 runs from 259 innings at an average of 36.50 including 16 centuries and 53 half-centuries.

After Temba Bavuma won the toss and opted to field first, Warner and Travis Head shared a 109-run partnership from just 71 balls. They scored 102 runs from the first 10 overs. This is the highest first 10 overs score against South Africa in ODIs. The previous record belonged to Sri Lanka (100/0) in 2017 in Cape Town.

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