3 bowlers who made David Warner their bunny in Tests

South African quick Kagiso Rabada reignited the "Should David Warner retire from Test cricket?" conversations by getting the Australian opener out cheaply in both innings of the recent Gabba Test.

Rabada's bouncer pushed Warner back and forced him to glove the first ball of the second innings to short-leg. It made for one of the most fearsome photos of a batter who crunches short balls for fun. His 11-ball misery in the fourth innings was ended by an out-seamer that took his edge with an angle to the slips.

This was the seventh time Rabada dismissed Warner in Tests, becoming the fourth-highest wicket-taker against the southpaw in just 13 innings.

Tellingly, this spell was just a reminder of the many series where the Aussie looked completely lost against one particular bowler.

On that note, here's a look at three such players who made the Aussie opener their bunny in the longest format:

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#1 Stuart Broad - 14 times

England right-arm pacer Stuart Broad and Warner's careers have followed similar roller-coaster trajectories. But whenever the two have come face-to-face in the Ashes, it's the Englishman who has had the bragging rights.

Broad has had the latter's number since 2013 when he hit the top of the opener's off-stump at the Riverside Ground in that year's fourth Ashes Test. The veteran seamer has got him out 14 a total of times in 45 innings at an average of 27.78.

In the next Ashes, in Australia, Broad got him out twice in Brisbane and once in Adelaide. However, the right-arm pacer couldn't get his nemesis out until 2018, despite playing in multiple Ashes both home and away.

In hindsight, that was just a calm buildup to the storm of the 2019 Ashes. Broad dismissed him at least once in all five Tests of the series and twice at Edgbaston and Old Trafford. He kept steaming in from around the wicket, hitting the length, incessantly targeting the stumps, and letting the seam do its job.

The 36-year-old got out to him seven times in 104 balls, ending perhaps his most forgettable series with just 95 runs from five Tests at an average of 9.50.

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#2 Ravichandran Ashwin - 10 times

Warner has shown a habit of finding his way against spin in limited-overs cricket but when it comes to Test matches, he can't escape the mastery of Ravichandran Ashwin's off-spin and the Indian off-spinner's impeccable record against left-handed batters.

Ashwin has had two brilliant spells against the Aussie. In 2012-13, Ashwin got him out thrice in three Tests in Adelaide, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad across two series. Between 2014 and 2017, again across two series, Warner got out to Ashwin in five consecutive Tests and twice in Sydney and Bengaluru.

When India needed similar magic from their wizard in the historic 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Trophy, Ashwin got rid of Warner in the Sydney Test for just 13. This was the 10th time he dismissed his former Delhi Capitals teammate in just 18 innings.

If Warner makes it to the 2022-23 Border Gavaskar Trophy in India, their battle will once again be one to watch out for.

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#3 Kagiso Rabada - 7 times

Although James Anderson has dismissed Warner three more times than Rabada, his wickets have been spread across eight years, compared to just four for the South African.

Rabada couldn't get him out the first time the duo went against each other in 2016-17. However, in Australia's infamous 2017-18 tour of South Africa, where tempers flayed high before the ball-tampering saga ruined it, Rabada dismissed Warner in the second innings of the first and second Test and twice at Newlands.

The two recent dismissals in Brisbane made it four wickets out of four innings for the right-arm pacer. The Australian opener would wish to turn it around in Melbourne.

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