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The top four run-getters in IPL 2023 -- Faf du Plessis (38), David Warner (36), Virat Kohli (34) and Jos Buttler (32) -- are all above 30.
T20 cricket is considered to be a young man's game, but all the senior batters are ruling the roost in IPL 2023!
The top four run-getters in IPL 2023 -- Faf du Plessis (38), David Warner (36), Virat Kohli (34) and Jos Buttler (32) -- are all above 30.
Interestingly, du Plessis, Warner and Kohli were the only three players to hit half-centuries on a rare double-header played on a week day on Thursday, April 20, 2023.
The experienced Warner led from the front with the bat to get Delhi Capitals their first win of IPL 2023, to keep them alive in the tournament after they had started with five losses in a row.
Leading DC in the absence of the injured Rishabh Pant, captaincy seems to be bringing out the best in Warner, who had led Sunrisers to the IPL title in 2016. He has been the lone bright spot in an otherwise horror start for Delhi in the tournament.
The left-hander is second in the run scoring charts with 285 runs from six games, at an average of 47.
The Australian registered his fourth fifty of the season, against KKR, but this was by far his most convincing innings.
Despite chasing 128 for victory, Warner knew that scoring runs quickly in the Powerplay was Delhi's best chance in the run chase as batting was proving to be quite difficult against the spinners.
He went on the attack right from the word go, hitting Umesh Yadav for a four off the second ball of the innings. He bagged another couple of fours off left-arm pacer Kulwant Khejroliya in the second over, before repeating the same dose on Andre Russell in the following over.
Warner made a telling statement when he slammed Sunil Narine for four boundaries in his second over as Delhi raced to 61/1 in six overs -- their best score in the Powerplay this season.
Once the field was spread, KKR's spinners stifled the flow of boundaries and build the pressure which saw Delhi's batters getting frustrated and throw their wickets away.
Mitchell Marsh (2) and Philip Salt (2) fell to spin as KKR kept themselves in the contest by chipping away at the wickets.
The DC captain flicked left-arm spinner Anukul Roy for a four to race to his fifty from just 33 balls as Delhi looked in sight of victory with 45 needed from nine overs.
When Warner fell leg before wicket to Varun Chakravarthy after hitting 57 from 41 balls, Delhi lost their way. It came down to 12 from as many balls before Axar Patel somehow pulled them across the line with an unbeaten 19 from 22 balls.
In the end, it was a huge relief for Warner and the Delhi Capitals who will hope this win turns around their IPL 2023 campaign.