Warner proves a point in Capitals victory over SRH

Opener hits unbeaten 92 off 58 balls to help Delhi register a 21-run win over Hyderabad and jump to fifth spot on the points table

MUMBAI: It was sweet revenge for David Warner as he played a crucial role with the bat in Delhi Capitals’ 21-run win over his former team Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Brabourne stadium on Thursday. Warner was released by SRH at the end of last season after a fallout with the team management. DC showed faith in him and the Australian hasn’t disappointed so for this season. His unbeaten knock of 92 on Thursday—his highest this season—came off 58 balls and included 12 fours and three sixes. Warner’s halfcentury was his 54th in IPL and fourth this season. He now has scored 356 runs in eight matches and sits fourth on the list of this edition’s highest scorers. Among the top five runscorers, he has the best strike rate of 156.82.

Warner’s 66-ball unbeaten 122-run stand with Rovman Powell (67, 35b) for the fourth wicket helped DC post 207/3 before their bowlers took wickets regularly to stifle SRH’s scoring and churn out a comprehensive victory.

Abhishek Sharma (7, 6b) and skipper Kane Williamson (4, 11b) were back in the pavilion within the first five overs, dismissed by Khaleel Ahmed (3/30) and Anrich Nortje (1/35) respectively. The 35-ball 60 run stand between Aiden Markram (42, 25b) and Nicholas Pooran (62, 34b) gave SRH a ray of hope. After Markram was dismissed by Ahmed, Pooran continued with his blistering hitting but ran out of partners before holing out at long-off on the bowling of Shardul Thakur (2/44). SRH could reach 186/8.

Earlier, Warner started cautiously as the SRH bowlers, especially Bhuvneshwar Kumar, got some early movement. But once the ball stopped doing much, Warner opened his shoulders. First on his radar was Umran Malik. He hit Malik for two fours and a six in his