BENGALURU - Australia rode on punishing centuries from openers David Warner and Mitchell Marsh to beat Pakistan by 62 runs in their World Cup game in Benga­luru on Friday. 

Australia’s total of 367-9 was built on Warner’s 163 with Marsh, on his 32nd birthday, hitting 121. Pakistan were un­done by poor bowling and field­ing which saw Warner dropped when he had made just 10. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa then ripped through the middle-or­der with figures of 4-53 as Paki­stan were bowled out for 305 in 45.3 overs, leaving both teams on two wins and as many losses. 

Mohammad Rizwan (46) and Saud Shakeel (30) added 57 for the fourth wicket as Pakistan needed 168 from the last 20 overs but Pat Cummins dismissed Saud Shakeel while Zampa accounted for Rizwan, If­tikhar Ahmed (26) and Moham­mad Nawaz (14) to end their resistance. 

Pakistan were given a solid start of 134 -- only their sec­ond hundred opening stand this year -- by Imam-ul-Haq (70) and Abdullah Shafique (64). 

Australia dropped Shafique with substitute Sean Abbott spilling a simple chance over the boundary off Cummins when the opener had made 27 while the skipper then dropped Imam off Zampa when the bats­man was on 48. But Marcus Sto­inis’s short-pitched deliveries claimed both the openers with­in the space of 20 runs while Cummins pulled off a splendid catch at mid-wicket off Adam Zampa to dismiss opposing cap­tain Babar Azam for 18. 

Earlier, Warner and Marsh set up Australia’s imposing total. Warner survived a leg-before appeal off the very first ball of the match and was then dropped on 10 in the fifth over, before cracking a punishing 124-ball 163 after Australia were sent in to bat on a flat Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch. 

Marsh clobbered a 108-ball 121 as the pair raced to an Aus­tralian World Cup opening stand record of 259 by the 34th over, much to the delight of a 30,000 crowd. Warner’s innings had 14 boundaries and nine towering sixes as he and Marsh spared none of the Pakistan bowlers. Marsh’s knock was spiced with ten boundaries and nine sixes. 

Their stand -- just 23 short of the World Cup opening re­cord of 282 by Sri Lanka’s Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan against Zimbabwe at Pallekele in 2011 -- was helped by a weak performance by Pakistan in the field. 

Australia smashed 82 in the first power-play and completed 200 runs in the 30th over. 

Warner completed his sec­ond World Cup century -- and 21st overall -- with a single off spinner Mohammad Nawaz off 85 balls while Marsh reached his second ODI hundred with a six in the same over, taking 100 balls. Ironically, it was Mir who caught Marsh off Shaheen to break the stand in the 34th over. 

Glenn Maxwell, sent in at three to keep up the momen­tum, fell first ball, caught by Babar Azam off Shaheen while Steve Smith was caught and bowled by Mir for seven. War­ner continued the carnage with three more sixes before falling to Rauf, holing out at long-on. Shaheen, who finished with 5-54, helped Pakistan come back in the last ten overs with six wickets falling for 70 runs. Rauf took 3-83. Pakistan next face Afghanistan in Chennai on Monday while Australia’s next opponents are the Netherlands in New Delhi two days later.