IPL: Delhi Capitals’ David Warner grateful to be playing and not being locked in hotel rooms

David Warner on Wednesday scored an unbeaten 60 off 30 balls in Delhi Capitals’ thumping nine-wicket win over the Punjab Kings at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. The Australian opener acknowledged that COVID-19 has become a hurdle in their IPL 2022 campaign but he was grateful to play on the day. 

The Delhi Capitals have reported six COVID-19 positive cases so far. The infected include the likes of Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and New Zealand-based wicketkeeper Tim Seifert. Skipper Rishabh Pant said that the team is trying to be positive and move forward. 

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Warner hit 10 boundaries and one maximum during his stay on the crease. He went past 1,000 runs against Punjab Kings and is only the second player in IPL history to do so against a single team. The first one is Rohit Sharma against Kolkata Knight Riders. 

“I think the bowlers did a fantastic job and made it easier for us. We had to go hard in the powerplay during the chase. It was a different surface compared to the last night, but credit to our bowlers. Was grateful that we were able to get out of our rooms and play tonight,” David Warner said at the post match ceremony.

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The Aussie and fellow opener Prithvi Shaw have now put up four consecutive fifty-plus stands at the top. Against PBKS, they scored 83 runs in 6.3 overs before the Indian youngster was dismissed. 

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“I was just trying to be positive and am happy to have played with Shaw.. For me it’s about sticking to the basics and I tried to put my best footwork forward, hopefully, I’ll be able to do going forward. My kids just want to know why I cannot get a hundred like Jos (Buttler) does. It’s great that the little ones around the world keep watching this game,” Warner added.

Punjab Kings were dismissed for 115 runs, a total Delhi Chased within 11 overs.