Fearsome David Warner Could Propel Australia to a Historic Victory over Pakistan

It's been six years since Australia conceded more than 450 runs in the first innings of a Test match on foreign soil. The last time it happened was the third game of the team's tour of India in Delhi in 2008.

That match, one that witnessed more than 1,100 runs across the first two innings, ended in a tame draw. But on the four previous occasions the Australians were hammered for 450 or more when bowling first away from home, they endured heavy defeats—two of them by an innings, another by 320 runs. 

In fact, in the nation's history, Australia have only ever won a single Test away from home on the 21 previous occasions they've conceded such a first-innings total, all the way back in 1948 against England at Headingley. 

Thus, when Pakistan crossed the 450-mark just prior to tea on the second afternoon of the first Test in Dubai on Thursday, it was reasonable to assume that, from that point forward, there could be only one winner.

Only, David Warner didn't appear to share that perception.  

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In the situation encountered by Warner and his partner Chris Rogers late on Day 2, there's often little to gain for batsmen. After five sessions in the field, minds are often jaded, reflexes blunted; a collective yearning for the afternoon to end sets in as the shadows across the ground grow as swiftly as the opposition's total had done earlier in the day.

So often, a gritty scrap ensues in the final session of the second day, the point in which teams who've endured a first-innings hiding in the field are unmercifully sent in to face a vibrant evening onslaught. 

But during his time in the international game, Warner has never been one to fall into line with trends, conventions and typical schools of thought. Instead, the left-hander is a renegade, a pugnacious character who lives and dies by his brazen disposition. 

True to his nature, the Australian opener went about rapidly changing the Test's tide after tea, leading a fine counter-attack to erase some of the damage inflicted upon the visitors by Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed earlier on Thursday. 

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To begin, the 27-year-old instantly struck a rhythm simply through his activity at the crease. An incessant source of energy, he hustled between the wickets, ran at the spinners and pushed the Pakistani fielders, collecting 14 runs from his first 17 deliveries without needing to find the fence (his partner, Rogers, laboured to seven from 43 in the same period).

What's now clear is that there's a distinguishable method to Warner's play in whites. No longer does he attack without a distinct purpose, no longer does he blaze his way to a spectacular but premature ending.

It's taken some time, but Warner has now found an equilibrium with both his batting, and his existence in the game. 

Thereafter, just as he did so regularly in previous series against England and South Africa, the left-hander capitalised upon his own platform, thumping seven fours and colossal six to race to 75 from just 77 deliveries, his sixth consecutive score of 50 or more in Tests for Australia. 

Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah suffered just as Nathan Lyon and Steve O'Keefe had done—Warner thumped 36 runs from just 24 combined deliveries from the pair—with only Mohammad Hafeez able to contain the dashing opener to any extent. 

By the close of the play, the tourists had galloped to 113 without loss, and should they maintain a similar rate of scoring on Day 3, they'll unexpectedly find themselves on par with Pakistan before the weekend arrives.

It's only an extrapolation, of course, but Australia—led by Warner's aggression—could still yet add to that sole victory on foreign soil when conceding 450-plus. 

Just as remarkable is the record Warner is now starting to compile. Since July last year, the combative Australian has thumped 1,279 runs—a figure only trumped by Kumar Sangakkara, Angelo Mathews and Joe Root, all of whom have operated in the greater safety of their respective middle orders. 

If you restrict the conversation to only those practicing his craft as an opener, he's head and shoulders out in front, having struck 232 more runs than Rogers and 375 more than Alastair Cook, who's completed five more Tests than the Australian.

Factor in an average of 63.70 and a strike rate of 78.54—the second highest figure for any player with at least 200 runs in Test cricket over that period—and Warner is making a compelling case for the title of the most fearsome batsman in the five-day game. 

If, against Pakistan in Dubai, he were to propel Australia to the sort of victory they've only ever achieved once before, that status will unequivocally be his.