The action returned in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Monday, with Sunrisers Hyderabad taking on Delhi Capitals in their home ground. Earlier on Sunday, the lucrative league featured a doubleheader with Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings returning victorious in their clashes against Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders, respectively.
Before the start of the night’s game, former SRH great David Warner, who is now captaining Delhi Capitals, had a chance to meet his former teammate and fellow SRH great, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The viral video has already done rounds on social media, and SRH fans have not been successful in controlling their emotions.
DC have set a target of 145 runs for SRH
Talking of the game, Delhi Capitals (DC) won the toss and elected to bat first. The home team completed a commendable job with the ball, restricting the visitor to a total of 144/9 in their 20 overs. Skipper David Warner continued to struggle with his strike rate, as he scored just 20 off 21 balls. Mitchell Marsh with 25 off 15, Manish Pandey with 34 off 27 and Axar Patel with 34 off 34 were the only notable contributions.
For the home side, Washington Sundar remained the pick of the bowlers returning with figures of 3/28 in his four overs, while SRH pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar had two scalps from the game whilst conceding just 11 in four overs.
Recently, David Warner has been criticised for his low strike rate. As such, former Aussie great Matthew Hayden quickly remarked on the issue. When asked about Warner’s strike rate, Hayden responded diplomatically but acknowledged that scoring rates needed to be examined. “Both David Warner had Delhi Capitals have had a struggling start to the new season. A lot of wickets have been tumbling around him. The Delhi Capitals side has not been together with the bat.”
“It’s a real conundrum as to how former cricketers and commentators like myself try and work out what’s the metric that really counts. Ishan Kishan, for example, could be criticised for not going on and scoring a big score, but inside the powerplay, his strike rate is about 175. So, he’s doing his job. Because, when you look at the Mumbai Indians lineup, you’ve got Tilak Varma, who is coming in and smashing the ball,” Hayden added.
Here's how fans reacted:
David Warner was one of the many reasons why SRH is successful in many ways. Since he left, it had turned out to be a mess.
— Tom Gravestone (@Whygravestone) April 24, 2023
Fans right now 🥺 we miss you GOAT🐐 @davidwarner31 pic.twitter.com/DxwnIphglj
— mani balaji (@balaji63202866) April 24, 2023
SRH legends🔥🔥
— Abhishek (@AbhishekA149) April 24, 2023
BHUVI THE GREATEST NEVER PROPERLY USED BY INDIAN CRICKET
— mahesh pole (@maheshp57940880) April 24, 2023
Nice Gesture by
— Mahendra Singh Amrapali (@SiddViz) April 24, 2023
The Man The Myth The Legend David Warner
Oh my Risers 😭 pic.twitter.com/QKEA32cYVJ
— 𝓢𝓱𝔀𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓪 (@shwetha0811) April 24, 2023
Bhuvi Bowled brilliantly for warner in 2016 ipl final ...their bond is special
— Pranav (@PranavR40) April 24, 2023
Meanwhile indian captain to bhuvi..Our standards pic.twitter.com/WXevuwQjoF
— Unknown (@Hedonist_789) April 24, 2023