The stage was set, and David Warner didn't disappoint. Signing off from Test cricket with a century was beyond even him with a target of only 130 against Pakistan at the SCG, but he did the next best thing as a punchy fifty allowed him to raise the bat around the ground one last time.
He couldn't quite make it to the winning moment, trapped lbw by the feisty Sajid Khan, but it allowed him a lone walk off the arena. The final tally: 8786 runs, average of 44.59, strike rate of 70.26, 26 hundreds and 37 fifties. He ends at No. 5 on Australia's all-time Test run-scorers list.
"It meant the world to me," Warner said of the reception. "I've given absolutely everything to play this game, and sacrificed a lot of things to be in the position I am [in]. Lots of ups and downs; [I] have had to come back and overcome adversity. Think I've done that very, very well. Think it's been well received from a lot of people, and think today just showed to me that I do have a lot of support. I'm very grateful and very thankful for that."
At the start of the day, Pat Cummins gave Warner the chance to lead the team onto the field when play resumed. "Thanks Dave" had been painted on the grass at the ground for today alongside an image of Warner's trademark leap. He was wearing his original baggy green which had found its way back to the hotel the day before, after vanishing on the eve of the game. As is standard for Warner, he hadn't worn it earlier in the second innings, but for his swansong as a Test cricketer, there had been little doubt he would give it a final airing.
There was a final catch, too, when he snaffled the chance at leg slip to remove Mohammad Rizwan. He has been a superb close-in fielder. When Nathan Lyon bowled Hasan Ali, Warner jogged off to pad up for the last time in his Test career.
And so, to the final act. Warner touched the plaque that honours Phillip Hughes outside the home dressing room. Then, as in the first innings, he embraced Usman Khawaja by the boundary rope. A few moments earlier, the pair had shared a more private moment. "He [Khawaja] said it's been an awesome journey and one he won't forget, and will cherish these moments forever," Warner recalled. "I didn't have anything to go back with because I was tearing up."
Khawaja then hung back, allowing Warner to lead the way. Shan Masood lined his team up for a guard of honour and shook Warner's hand. At the end of the line, he was also acknowledged by umpires Michael Gough and Richard Illingworth.
The pair rotates first strike in an innings, so it was Khawaja facing. He was gone before Warner had faced a ball, no opportunity for a final end-of-over mid-pitch chat. Australia 0 for 1, Sajid pumped, the pitch biting and turning. A reminder there was still a Test match to win.
Warner defended his first ball from Mir Hamza, then two deliveries later was skipping down the crease. The intent was clear, as has so often been the case. Cheers greeted the punched shot that got him off the mark. Two overs later, an almighty thrash through the covers brought his first boundary. Then it soon became something of a greatest hits collection.
A switch-hit sweep off Sajid; a shuffle down the pitch and loft over mid-on; a reverse sweep; a full toss disdainfully dispatched over midwicket; a thumping drive through the covers; and an inside-out drive over the off side to take him to 49. Then, on his 56th ball, a nudge into the on side to reach fifty, acknowledged by a long, loud standing ovation from a crowd of more than 20,000.
Away from the sentimentality of the occasion, this was a brilliant little innings from Warner on a tough pitch. A lot of the discussion around his replacement is now focused on scoring rates, and Warner's final innings in Test cricket was a reminder of how he had been a game-changer when he emerged into the scene.
"Test cricket you play in all kinds of conditions, and losing someone who has played 100 Tests is pretty hard to fill," Cummins said. "[He] brings out the reverse sweep, starts using his feet to the spinners, and gets ahead of the game. A good reminder of what an experienced and high-class cricketer Davey is, and that we are going to miss [him]."
Lunch arrived with Australia needing 39, so Warner had the chance for one more - somewhat lower key - walk to the crease. Inevitably, the closing stages were not without a little more drama when he survived an lbw shout from Sajid that was umpire's call, but dislodging the bails significantly more than when Alex Carey was bowled yesterday.
There was a final, feisty duel with Sajid who pleaded and pleaded for numerous lbw appeals, before, at last, the DRS upheld one in Pakistan's favour. Sajid immediately shook Warner's hand, and to a man the Pakistan players went up to him in acknowledgement.
Warner soaked in the walk-off, waving his bat to the full 360 degrees of the ground as the crowd rose to their feet. The incoming batter, Steven Smith, waited, and they hugged - two players who have been through a lot together - before Warner made his way up the pavilion steps to the dressing room. An extraordinary career now drawn to a close.
"Today was the end, I wanted to go out my way," Warner said. "I really enjoyed it."