Australia's David Warner stands tall to spoil India's chances of a comeback in the series.
India faced a humbling 10-wicket loss to Australia in the first ODI of the three-match series in Mumbai. While the margin of the loss justifiably came as a shock to fans and former cricketers alike, one aspect of the game which remained in-sync with the previous trends was David Warner's impressive run against India. The left-handed batsman has been in splendid form ever since he made a comeback from the ban.
Warner, across formats, has been one of the most effective players for Australia since his return to the side after serving a year's ban on ball-tampering charges. Barring the Ashes series, Warner enjoyed solid outings for the Aussie side at the World Cup, and in the home season, which included series wins against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand.
Warner has been the side's highest scorer in ODIs since the 2019 World Cup (when he made his comeback in the side). He struck four centuries and three half-centuries, scoring 775 runs in 11 innings at a staggering average of 86.11. Globally, he has the second-best average since the tournament.
| Player | Matches | Runs | Average |
| David Warner (Australia) | 11 | 775 | 86.11 |
| Kane Williamson (New Zealand) | 10 | 578 | 82.57 |
| Babar Azam (Pakistan) | 10 | 620 | 68.88 |
| Rohit Sharma (India) | 16 | 994 | 67.42 |
| Ben Stokes (England) | 11 | 465 | 66.42 |
(Stats since 2019 World Cup - Min. 10 innings)
In six T20I innings since, Warner was not dismissed once, scoring 287 runs. He is the third-highest Test scorer for Australia during this time, behind Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. Warner also scored his highest-individual score in the longest format of the game, slamming 335* against Pakistan.
The confidence is running high for Warner, and it doesn't help India's cause that his average against the Men in Blue is the best among the current Australian squad.
Warner has played 17 ODIs against India, scoring 820 runs at a brilliant average of 54.66. He reached his highest innings-score against India in the first ODI of the series (128*).
| David Warner (against Opponents) | Matches | Runs | Average |
| India | 17 | 820 | 54.66 |
| Pakistan | 13 | 676 | 52.00 |
| South Africa | 20 | 943 | 47.15 |
| New Zealand | 12 | 547 | 45.58 |
| Sri Lanka | 17 | 624 | 36.70 |
(Min. 10 innings)
The average becomes even better on Indian soil. No other Australian batsman in the current squad enjoys a better average than Warner in India. In only six innings, Warner has slammed 374 runs at a stunning average of 74.60.
"I think I’ve always had the hunger and desire for runs," Warner had said after the game against India.
"It’s just a great effort from our fast bowlers to knock India over for 255. We wanted to just protect the Powerplay. We got off to a flier, and we were very clinical in the end. For us, it’s about keeping rotating the strike and taking the odd boundary here and there. it’s about taking the game deep. We knew if we were there at the end, we would win."
