KOCHI: It was billed as a ‘homecoming’ as David Warner finally made his second debut for the Delhi franchise. Having made his debut in the IPL with the capital side back when they were known as the Delhi Daredevils, the Australian was returning to the franchise after a long gap.
But as the contest between Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants wore on, Warner’s forgettable outing became a reflection of how the capital outfit is still trying to patch together their strongest eleven, while the KL Rahul-led IPL newcomers is giving the impression of a well-oiled unit at the moment.
The inclusion of Anrich Nortje was also a welcome boost as the pacer has been Delhi’s bowling spearhead in recent seasons, but the South African was returning from an injury lay-off and there were questions on whether he was fully ready.
But the big focus was on Warner. After missing the first few games due to his exertions with the Australian national team, the 35-year-old was slotted right into the starting eleven here on Thursday. After a dismal campaign in the last edition with SRH, this was a fresh start and Delhi needed him to start firing. However, things didn’t go according to plan as the veteran lasted just 12 deliveries in the middle while posting four runs.
If Warner failed to make an impression with the bat, what helped Delhi’s cause early on was the whirlwind innings from his opening partner Prithvi Shaw. He smashed a 34-ball 61 as Warner just looked on from the other end in a 67-run opening wicket partnership where his contribution was just four. Warner faced just nine balls in the batting powerplay as Shaw monopolized strike and went after every bowler including pacer Avesh Khan. The pacer went for 13 runs in the fourth over as he was smashed for three consecutive boundaries.
Just when it looked like Delhi was racing away, the spin duo of Ravi Bishnoi and Krishnappa Gowtham helped pull things back in favour of the Giants. Gowtham managed to give them the big breakthrough by dismissing the dangerous Shaw. Once Shaw departed, Delhi lost its sting.
Bishnoi went on to dismiss both Warner and Rovman Powell in quick succession and it was down to the likes of Pant and Sarfaraz Khan to steady their innings. It was a big opportunity for Sarfaraz after his exploits in the domestic circuit. The two went on to forge a 75-run partnership but runs were hard to come by as Lucknow managed to keep a check on the run flow as Delhi laboured to 149/3.
In reply, Quinton de Kock hit a 52-ball 80 and set the platform for Lucknow before Krunal Pandya and Ayush Badoni saw through the chase in the final over of the match as they won by six wickets.
Brief scores: DC 149/3 in 20 ovs (Shaw 61, Bishnoi 2/22) lost to LSG 155/4 in 19.4 ovs (De Kock 80, Kuldeep 2/31).