As another World Cup comes calling on Indian shores, the signs emanating from Warner’s blade are ominous if you are in his rival camp. The burly Australian topped his country’s batting charts in the recently concluded ODI series against India smashing three back-to-back fifties. Before he boarded the flight to India, Warner smashed a century and a fifty in the five-match one-day series against the Proteas in South Africa. And all these runs have come at a fair clip as a strike rate of 119.26 Warner has this year in nine matches is the best of his ODI career. Apart from Ireland, where he has played just two matches, Warner’s career-best ODI average is in India at 52.27 from 12 ODIs. With the form he is in, the big-stage player should seem at home in Indian conditions in the World Cup.
“Not just in the Australian team, but around the world, these are the tournaments that the best players build themselves up for and get excited about. That’s the ultimate challenge for them to not only prove how good they are individually but also to help their team get some really exciting success. So I’m not surprised that he’s (Warner) hit the ground running over here with the enthusiasm that you’d expect from Davey (Warner) and playing really well,” Australian chief selector and former ODI captain George Bailey<\/a> said.
Moreover, the versatility and dexterity that Warner brings to the batting crease make him a bowler’s nightmare. Apart from the switch hits that he plays with consummate ease, Warner unveiled another batting trait of his when chose to bat right-handed to counter R Ashwin’s off-spin in Mohali in the second ODI last week. Off the second ball he faced from Ashwin, he swept the offie for a four with power and precision that would have made a right-hander proud. “He plays golf right-handed, we see how dynamic he is with his switch-hitting and stuff, so he weighed up those options. He’s done it before, he practices batting in the nets,” Warner’s teammate Sean Abbott said, revealing that there was a method to Warner’s approach.
While his Test form off-late has come under intense scrutiny and the Sandpaper Gate scandal in 2018 may have tarnished his reputation and got him a ban, there is no denying the fact he is a one-day giant. At the sunset of his career, Warner would want to go out with a bang in his final ODI World Cup.<\/p>\n
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