After being sent in to bat under gloomy skies at The Oval, Australia lost Usman Khawaja for a duck during a difficult first hour on day one of the showpiece event.
Prodding at a ball away from his body and with the ball swinging, Khawaja failed to move his feet when edging a ball behind off Mohammed Siraj.
At the other end Warner got through several close calls in the opening hour with the ball nipping around and jumping off a length.
Marnus Labuschagne also wore a ball on the right thumb off Siraj and required medical attention after dropping his bat in pain.
The Queenslander then survived an lbw review on umpire’s call before going to lunch unbeaten on 26.
But after announcing his planned January 2024 retirement last weekend and with a five-Test Ashes series looming, all eyes were on Warner.
India employed the same tactics as Stuart Broad did at him during the 2019 Ashes, with Mohammed Shami coming around the wicket to the left-hander.
Warner was forced to battle his way through the opening overs, leaving one ball that nipped back close to the stumps and watching another narrowly pass the shoulder of the bat.
But unlike in 2019 when he averaged 9.5, Warner was able to get through the early stages.
He pulled Shami for four when the Indian quick briefly went over the wicket to him for three balls and began to break into his signature cover drives to fuller balls outside off stump.
Then after an opening hour of intense pressure, the 36-year-old was able to break the shackles against Umesh Yadav.
He cut and punched the right-armer to the point and gully boundaries four times in the one over, as a big innings loomed one week out from the first Ashes Test.
But the opener fell just before lunch, gloving a rank short ball down legside from Shardul Thakur through to diving wicketkeeper KS Bharat.
Warner knows only runs will guarantee him a dream Sydney farewell following his looming retirement.
A score at The Oval against India would have pushed his case especially after a patch including just one score over 50 from 16 innings.
India earlier made the bold call to leave out the world’s No.1-ranked bowler Ravichandran Ashwin, opting instead to play a fourth quick and with allrounder Ravindra Jadeja the sole spinner.