David Warner admits it was a huge relief to score his first Test century at the MCG after a lean year with the bat.
Warner spearheaded Australia's fightback against Pakistan on day three of the Boxing Day Test with a blistering 144 off 143 balls.
The opener looked in vintage touch, belting 17 fours and a six before being given out on review in the final hour of play after gloving a Wahab Riaz delivery to wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed.
With Australia well-placed on 2-278 at stumps on Wednesday, Warner said it was a special moment to finally make a ton at the MCG.
"It was a childhood dream," he said.
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"It is one that I hadn't really ticked off. It was a bit emotional, and it was a lot of weight off my shoulders."
Warner had looked troubled early by Pakistan's seamers but soon found his groove, punishing a wayward spell by legspinner Yasir Shah and finding the boundary with ease.
"I didn't even realise that (they) only bowled 58 overs," Warner said.
"There wasn't any tactic to go out there and try and blast them out of the park, it was just more to go out there and bat and see what happens at the end of the day's play."
Warner survived a bizarre DRS review of a caught-behind appeal in the fifth over, with the video replay showing Mohammad Amir's delivery was missing his bat by a long way.
And he would have been out clean-bowled by Wahab on 81 if not for the seamer overstepping his mark for a no-ball.
It was Warner's first Test century since his unbeaten 122 against the West Indies at the SCG in January, having gone 17 innings since without reaching triple figures.
The freewheeling knock also took Warner past 5000 career Test runs in his 109th innings.
He is the sixth-fastest Australian to reach the milestone behind Don Bradman, Matthew Hayden, Neil Harvey, Greg Chappell and Mike Hussey.
Warner has starred with the bat in one-day internationals this year, averaging 63.09.
But he arrived at the MCG with a career-low Test average of 35.52, having performed below his best at home against South Africa and in tours of Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
Warner averaged a career-best 63.11 in Tests in 2014, a year in which he also made six centuries.
FASTEST AUSTRALIANS TO REACH 5000 TEST RUNS
*Don Bradman (56 innings)
*Matthew Hayden (95)
*Neil Harvey (105)
*Greg Chappell (106)
*Mike Hussey (107)
*David Warner (109)
