David Warner saved his best for his old nemesis, Sunrisers Hyderabad. It is no secret that Warner was treated rather poorly last year. The reason for that is still unknown. He was the captain when SRH won their only IPL title a few years ago. Yes, Warner was involved in the ball-tampering controversy and as a result, lost his captaincy but after serving a ban, he returned as the captain for SRH and dropped himself from the playing eleven after a series of low scores.
The IPL rules are such that only 4 non-Indian players are allowed and Warner just cannot afford to keep himself in the team to the detriment of the team. However, it seems that alone wasn’t enough and he was jettisoned last year. He wasn’t invited to the year-end party. At that point, Warner felt really low and perhaps even insulted.
“When you are dropped from the team you have loved the most for years without any real fault of yours and stripped of captaincy without being given a reason, it hurts.”
These were Warner’s words last year when he was dropped from the squad. Warner would not have developed any grudge against SRH but he surely would have wanted to prove a point. He would have wanted to send a message to his former franchise that they were too hasty in their decision. Hence, Warner saved his best for his old nemesis.
Was it a grudge match for Warner?
Warner himself didn’t say so. “My thoughts are like every other game, just keep going through your processes till you have to do it, training and just get ready for the game.”
Ofcourse, none of the cricketers will admit that it is a grudge match for them. Warner was no different but the manner with which he went about his batting certainly makes everyone believe that he needs to prove himself to SRH.
He did that so brilliantly. 92 of just 58 deliveries. The bigger story was that he remained on 92 when the last over began. However, he didn’t think of a hundred but rather asked his partner to score as many runs as he can in the last over. When Powell wanted to take a single of the first ball, Warner was vehement that he is not worried about the hundred.
“At the start of the last over I asked him if he wanted a single to try and hit a hundred but he said, ‘listen, that’s not how cricket is played,’ and that I should try to smack it as hard as I can and I did that,” Powell had said
The threat of Umran Malik
The highlight of the evening was how Warner dealt with the threat of Umran Malik, the fastest bowler in the current IPL. Australians in general are good against fast bowling. Anything short, they will easily rock back on the backfoot and punish the bowler. Bowl short to an Australian at your own peril. Warner is no different. He plays the pull with relative ease. So many fast bowlers have suffered at the hands of Warner.
Third delivery of Umran’s first over, the ball was short and Warner played a half pull half drive of the hips towards midwicket for a boundary. The next one was driven through covers for another boundary but the best was saved for the last. Umran pitched the ball short and at 90 MPH speed. Warner rocks on the backfoot and helped the ball over fine leg. Umran was immediately taken out of the attack. He did return after a few overs and Warner scored a boundary of the very first delivery.
Later on, he blasted his fellow Australian, Sean Abbott, for several boundaries and much of the same was instore for Kumar as well.
It will not be an understatement to state that the threat of Umran was sufficiently handled by Warner and that proved to be a major difference. Umran is known to pick a few wickets with his rapid pace. It simply is tough to face deliveries coming at 155KMPH. Warner took him apart in that first over and after that, Hyderabad did not really have an answer. They were neither able to control Warner nor were they able to get him out. He was simply irresistible against his former team.
Warner was the difference between the teams
Without Warner’s knock, Delhi Daredevils would not have scored more than 200. Infact, they would have struggled to post 150. A Warner special was required to propel the score past 200. Despite Warner’s heroics, Delhi still isn’t that well placed on the table. They are currently in the 5th spot with 5 wins. One behind RCB but with the knowledge that their runrate is better than RCB. They still have 4 more games and can qualify if they win all their remaining games but for that, they will need Warner at his absolute best. They must be mentally prepared to play three playoff games to win the tournament because they are unlikely to finish in the top two. With Pant’s and Shaw’s inconsistency, everything rests on the broad shoulders of the opener from Australia.
Conclusion to Warner saved his best for his old nemesis
It was a mistake on the part of SRH to have treated Warner so badly after what he did for them. They would have realised their mistake by now. It was a special innings from Warner but will it be enough for Delhi to qualify? It remains to be seen. However, this does augur well for Australia. An inform Warner. Yes, the T20 WC is still a few months away and anything could happen between now and then but so far, Finch, the Australian captain will be pleased to see a Warner amongst runs. If he continues in the same vein, other teams better watch out.
What do you think of Warner’s game? Was it a grudge match for him or was he just getting on with his game? Let me know in the comments.
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