Delhi Capitals skipper David Warner reveals that his side wanted to come out and play positively after he won the Toss and elected to bat first, against the Gujarat Titans in the recently concluded match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmdabad.
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However, the plan backfired on the very first delivery of the evening, as his opening batting partner Phil Salt (0) got Caught Out on a Golden Duck, while playing a cover drive on the rise straight in the hands of the fielder.
In the very next Over, a mix-up between Warner (2) and Priyam Garg (10) resulted in the captain being sold down the river, as Rashid Khan scampered through towards the stumps at the non-striker’s end, to complete the easiest of Run Outs.
It appeared like the end was nigh for the Capitals tonight, as half the side was sent back within the Powerplay, with the scorecard reading 28/5 after five Overs at one point.
David Warner Clueless as Delhi Capitals’ Batters Stumble Yet Again in IPL 2023
However, a hard-fought fifth-wicket partnership between Axar Patel (27) and Aman Khan (51) worth fifty runs, and then a quick fire partnership of 52 (27) for the sixth wicket between Khan and Ripal Patel (23), made sure DC huffed and puffed to 130/8 in their 20 Overs.
During the post-match presentation, Warner admitted being clueless with respect to the reason for the team’s poor batting performance match-after-match, while stating that they somehow find ways to lose wickets in cluster.
“We just find ways to lose wickets in clumps, I always hate it when there’s a run out. I don’t know what’s happening with our batting. We tried playing positively today with the bat, didn’t come off,” remarked Warner during an interaction with Star Sports network after the match.
Before tonight’s match, the Capitals’ middle-order batters averaged a paltry 16.6, with the entire unit having lost the most wickets to spin as well. Moreover, their batters also have the lowest run-rate against the pacers in the ongoing season so far.
Warner is the leading run-scorer for the side, but his strike rate of 118.46 across nine innings so far, has been of very little use for the team.
Moreover, with the team having the quality services of some of the big names in Ricky Ponting, Shane Watson, and even Sourav Ganguly, it remains a mystery as to why their batters have been far from playing to their potential best, despite them (management) having tried a host of options at different positions.
Capitals emerge winners in the low-scoring contest
However, the good news for DC ultimately did arrive, as the bowlers took the mantle upon themselves to defend the team’s lowest-ever target of 131 runs.
GT skipper Hardik Pandya (59 off 53) remained unbeaten right till the end, despite having played almost nine Overs in the chase, only to own the blame for the team’s loss post match.
