During their tour of Australia, the Pakistan cricket team displayed another touching gesture as Shan Masood and his players offered a ‘guard of honour’ to David Warner on the first day of the New Year's Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. As Warner approached the crease towards the end of the day's play, emotions ran high, and the home crowd stood to applaud the Australian opener.
Ahead of Warner and Usman Khawaja's entrance, the Pakistan team was already present at the venue, providing a guard of honour for Warner. Taking a moment to absorb the atmosphere, Warner looked up at the skies before stepping out to bat for one of the final times in his illustrious Test career.
In another touching moment, Khawaja and Warner shared a warm embrace before taking the field. As friends since age-group cricket, the duo faced just one over before Stumps were called on Day 1 of the New Year's Test. Earlier in the day, despite a lacklustre performance from their top-order, Pakistan managed to post 313 on the scoreboard after Masood won the toss and chose to bat.
Incidentally, the 37-year-old marked his final Test appearance with a boundary and ended the day unbeaten on 6. Pakistan, choosing to open the bowling with off-spinner Sajid Khan, concluded the day's play with only 78.1 overs bowled.
Warner has been under the spotlight, securing a farewell Test at his home ground in Sydney. Following his match-winning century in the series opener against Pakistan in Perth, Warner, addressing the press on New Year's Day in Sydney, also declared his retirement from ODIs.
On the same day, Pakistan displayed resilience by posting 313 on the scoreboard after recovering from a precarious position at 96 for 5. Mohammad Rizwan played a counter-attacking innings, scoring 88, while the No. 9 batter Aamer Jamal showcased his batting prowess with an impressive 82, frustrating the Australian bowlers. The 10th-wicket partnership between Aamer and Mir Hamza reached 86 runs, displaying stern resistance from the Pakistani lower order.
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