With Rishabh Pant being unavailable for the entire Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, it was a no-brainer that Delhi Capitals would go with David Warner as their captain for the season. The mighty Aussie batter is one of the top scorers in the history of the league and had led his previous franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad to their only title victory back in 2016.
Warner had a great chance of rewriting history with the team he made his IPL debut with, back in 2009. The management backed him to the fullest and he became more than just a marquee overseas player; he has turned into ‘Warner Bhai’ in a youngster-rich DC camp.
IPL 2023 Points Table: Check Team Standings, Team Points, Wins, Losses
The freshness of the youngsters and Warner’s massive experience was supposed to be working as the ‘Chemical X’ for DC who were still figuring out to fill the Pant void. But once the league began, they were easily outsmarted by as many as five opponents on the trot. Weeks after reeling at the bottom of the tally with zero points, they found their first win at home, against KKR and then, defeated SRH in Hyderabad.
The win in Hyderabad was the perfect redemption for Warner whose last days in SRH were nightmarish. Just a few days later, the two teams face each other again as the action shifts to Quila Kotla, the home of the Capitals.
From now on, it’s an arduous path for Delhi. With seven games left, Warner & Co have to be on their toes if they are hoping for a miracle to happen. In such a scenario, the pressure is colossal on the skipper and in fact, on the entire unit.
Addressing a pre-match presser on Friday, DC head coach Ricky Ponting admitted that they are pushing themselves really hard; harder than any other franchise in the league.
Responding to a News18 Cricketnext query, Ponting said, “It has been a challenge for David as it has been for all of us. When you have played seven games and have won just 2 then it’s a challenging time. We are trying really hard, more than any other team in this tournament. We are trying with everything we can and so far, it hasn’t worked out the way we wanted to."
The biggest problem with Delhi Capitals is their unsettled top order which hasn’t clicked to date. Warner has been the top-scorer for the team, with 306 runs, but who’s next in the fray? DC’s top-notch opening batter, Prithvi Shaw, is already in hot waters and their experiment of replacing him with Phillip Salt was a failure too. The likes of Shaun Marsh, Yash Dhull, and Sarfaraz Khan among others are also biting the dust.
Warner has been in a great space, even when he was batting parallel to the SRH nets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday night. Ponting didn’t take away the credit but did mention that the captain is direly missing support from the back end.
“Now look at David, he is 3rd or 4th on the run-scorers tally. He is a consistent run-scorer at the top and he needs some more support from the top-order batter around. Having been there as a top-order batter as a captain, if you are scoring runs, captaincy becomes a little bit easier.
“So, David needs some support around him at the top and the captaincy will become a bit easier but I thought his captaincy, last game in particular, in a low-scoring game in Hyderabad, was as good as I’ve seen anyone lead a team," Ponting told Cricketnext in the presser.
IPL 2023: Orange Cap Complete List of Batters with Most Runs, Check here
But the way Warner led the team to victory in a low-scoring affair against SRH in Hyderabad on Monday was a great example of strong willpower. They were restricted to just 144 for 9 following a terrible batting collapse but Warner’s tactics while fielding were commendable. His decisions and bowling changes were spot on which not only left the fans impressed but Ponting was moved as well.
“He made some good bowling changes and remained stick to his gut feeling and he got his instinct right throughout the run defence for us was outstanding. And that’s why he is our captain, he has experience, knowledge and that plays a big part in winning games of cricket," Ponting concluded.
IPL 2023: Purple Cap Complete List of Batters with Most Runs, Check here
The contest on Sunday evening is going to be the battle of equals; whichever side will hold have six points in their kitty. But there is a catch. If this face-off turns out to be a cracking contest and either team wins with a better net run rate, it will have a chance to even go up to either 7th or 8th position. So, hold on to your breaths and get set for a blast!
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