David Warner scored an impressive 144 to take Australia to 278-2 at the end of the third day's play of the second Test against Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The left-hander smashed 17 fours and one six as his 198-run partnership with Usman Khawaja helped cut the tourists' lead to 165 on Wednesday.

Warner was reprieved on 81 when he was bowled by a no ball before being caught behind off a later Wahab Riaz delivery.

For Pakistan, pacer Wahab and leg-spinner Yasir Shah picked one wicket each.

Earlier, opener Azhar Ali became the first Pakistani batsman to score a double hundred on Australian soil as visitors declared their first innings at the score of 443-9 just after lunch.

Azhar's unbeaten 205 was only three runs short of the record for touring batsmen at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, set by West Indies' Viv Richards in 1984.

The 31-year-old also became his nation's first player to surpass 200 twice in a calendar year, having scored an unbeaten 302 against West Indies in Dubai in October.

For Australia, who lead the three-Test series 1-0, pacers Josh Hazlewood and Jackson Bird finished with three wickets each.