Mumbai: Before such a vital match for Delhi Capitals against Sunrisers Hyderabad, David Warner was composed. As the fight for the IPL 2022 playoffs heated up, the game was critical for both teams. But it would have meant a lot more to Warner than the two points DC ultimately won.
If there was ever an IPL grudge match, this had to be it.
On Thursday, David Warner faced 58 balls and scored 92 runs while hitting 12 fours and three sixes. In just 11 overs, he added 122 with Rovman Powell in an unbroken 4th wicket partnership.
Warner was in such good form and spirits that Umran Malik’s speed mattered nothing to him. He was dead set on making SRH pay. On the broadcast, commentators couldn’t stop mentioning the grudge match, but on the field, it was evident that there was extra drive.
Warner, the T20 World Cup Player of the Series, has been in excellent form for DC this season. He’d already scored three half-centuries before Thursday, but he’d saved his best for his former colleagues, many of whom he’d coached and mentored over the years.
David Warner was unrelenting in his attack while wickets dropped at the other end. He found the ideal ally in an equally destructive Rovman Powell and pushed him to burn ’em in the last over, even if it cost him a hundred runs, bringing him to level with Virat Kohli in the IPL rankings.
The bowlers delivered a convincing victory, and David Warner’s vengeance was complete as the SRH management saw him do to them what he had done to them years ago.
Slap on the face of srh management #SRHvsDC !! #DavidWarner #srh @davidwarner31 pic.twitter.com/UtN8X8ouKe
— Virat_stan (@Viratstan3) May 5, 2022
Warner is an icon in the IPL. He began his career with Delhi in 2009 but has since earned legendary status with SRH. Warner made 848 runs in 17 games and guided his team to IPL gold in 2016, while Virat Kohli destroyed records and scored hundreds for fun.
Warner was back on top of his form in 2017, scoring 641 runs in 14 matches before making a remarkable comeback following a one-year suspension for SandpaperGate. Warner got 692 runs in 2019 and then another 548 in 2020. Warner had been an SRH legend during those years.
"Victory is Sweet But Revenge is Sweeter." 😉
David Warner Scored 92 runs on
52 balls against his former Franchise SRH.
📸 : IPL #DavidWarner #DC #DelhiCapitals #TATAIPL #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/sihoWQrmws— CricketMafia (@cricketmafia120) May 5, 2022
However, things got abruptly changed. After a poor start to their season in 2021, SRH fired Warner as captain and subsequently dropped him from the playing XI. Warner even stayed at the hotel when SRH continued their nightmare season last season, cheering them on from the stands at one point. And once again, SRH witnessed a nightmare Thursday and Warner was the reason.
David Warner 🙌🙌#IPL2022 #SRHvsDC #DavidWarner pic.twitter.com/ILR4gX66YI
— Rahul Choudhary (@Rahulc7official) May 5, 2022
In the end, poor form does not define a player’s character. It’s just a phase, and players like Warner understand how to get through it.
