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David Warner missed the chance to push for a world-record score after reaching 335no but Australia's bowlers made use of the declaration to have Pakistan 6-96.

David Warner backed Australia's decision to put winning a Test match ahead of his world record charge after it paid dividends against a limp Pakistan on Saturday night.

Warner hit an Adelaide Oval record 335 not out in Australia's 3(dec)-589, before Mitchell Starc took four wickets to have the tourists 6-96 at stumps on day two.

Warner went past Don Bradman and Mark Taylor's scores of 334 to sit second behind Matthew Hayden's 380 as the second highest-ever score by an Australian.

Brian Lara's world record of 400 was also in sight, with the West Indies champion at the ground.

But Warner revealed he was well aware of Tim Paine's tough call to prioritise a result and bowling at twilight, with wet weather forecast for later in the match.

"I don't think (it was an opportunity missed) at all," Warner said.

"We really looked at the weather that is around tomorrow. We wanted to give ourselves a lot of time.

"If there is a bit of rain about tomorrow the bowlers get a good rest, then you only have to get 14 wickets in the last day.

"It wasn't a thing in our mind to go out there and try and get the records ... It was more about putting ourselves in a position to win the Test."

Australia's bowlers then responded, showing all the discipline Pakistan lacked.

All six wickets came from edges to leave Pakistan needing 294 more runs to avoid a possible follow on.

Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins each had one scalp to go with Starc's 4-22, whose spell was highlighted by a one-handed screamer from Paine to remove Iftikhar Ahmed on zero.

Warner was earlier sublime as he formed part of the biggest second-wicket stand even in Australia, with Marnus Labuschagne's dismissal on 162 ending it on 361.

The opener crunched the ball through the covers whenever it was full and wide, and cut anything short outside off stump through point.

In perhaps the greatest sign of how often Pakistan failed to bowl full and straight, only 21 of the left-hander's runs came past mid-off and mid-on.

Legspinner Yasir Shah copped it worst with 0-197, while Muhammad Musa went for 0-114 and Mohammad Abbas 0-100..

Teenager Shaheen Shah Afridi was the only bowler to have any joy, taking 3-88.

But their poor bowling shouldn't take away from Warner's brilliance.

He finished with the 10th-highest score in the 142-year history of Test cricket and the highest ever in Adelaide.

He hit 39 boundaries and one six and 80 of his runs came from cover drives as he ran hard throughout.

He passed his previous best mark of 253 just before tea and looked to the sky as he reached both 200 and 300 on what would have been Phillip Hughes' 31st birthday.

"I will cherish this moment for the rest of my life," Warner said.

"It sunk into me it's very rare you get these opportunities. There was so much time to go in the game.

"There were 70 overs to go in the day and I was on 270. You think this is a chance I'm probably never going to get (to reach 300)."

Along with Labuschagne, Steve Smith (36) and Matthew Wade (38no) he helped the Aussies pile on 287 runs in 54 overs on Saturday.

Warner only appeared to show signs of fatigue closer to the tea break, notably when he was caught at gully on 226 from a Musa no-ball.

His tally for the international summer is now 776 runs at 388 after the Twenty20 series and century at the Gabba Test.

It comes in his first matches back at home for Australia since the ball-tampering scandal and subsequent 12-month ban.