By B. Shrikant
Mumbai, May 6 (IANS): As Rishabh Pant walked off after dragging the ball to his stumps trying to reach out to a wide delivery by Shreyas Gopal shaking his head, he had all the reasons to be worried as Delhi Capitals had only 85 runs on the board and were three wickets down in the IPL 2022 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Brabourne Stadium here on Thursday.
Though opener David Warner was going strong with 42 runs, Pant was aware that only nine overs of their innings had been completed and there was a long way to go. One or two more wickets and Delhi Capitals would be in deep trouble.
But that did not happen as Warner and Rovman Powell ensured Delhi not only did not lose any more wickets but also put up a big total for Sunrisers to chase.
Their partnership proved the turning point of the match as Delhi Capitals posted a huge total and came back to restrict Sunrisers Hyderabad to 186/8 in 30 overs to win the match by 21 runs.
Warner held the innings together, and batted through for a superb unbeaten 92 off 58 deliveries, hitting 12 boundaries and three sixes. He found a good ally in Rovman Powell, who struck an unbeaten 67 off 35 deliveries as they stitched together an unbeaten 122-run partnership for the fourth wicket off just 66 deliveries as Delhi Capitals reached 207/3 in their allotted 20 overs.
Playing against a team that had dumped him unceremoniously after the IPL 2021 edition, Warner knew he held the key after Pant's departure and played a brilliant knock, sublime on most occasions but yet brutal when hitting the big shots. He found the gaps regularly and kept the scoreboard ticking.
Powell was all power, smashing the ball to all corners in a brutal display of aggressive cricket. He hammered six maximums and three boundaries as he maintained a high tempo and posted a defendable total.
In response, Sunrisers Hyderabad found the going tough, lost wickets at regular intervals and eventually fell short of the target despite a half-century by Nicholas Pooran (62) and 42 by Aiden Markram.