From a tempestuous cricketer and a winning captain. The metamorphosis has been complete for Australian David Warner. His batting pedigree was never in doubt since he broke into the Aussie team and was a sought-after batsman in IPL. It was his temperament that was letting him down and put him in trouble on occasions.
He has turned things around rather brilliantly and his captaincy was one of the reasons for Sunrisers Hyderabad capturing the title in IPL 2016. Indian Test captain and RCB leader Virat Kohli had heaped praise during the pre-final media meet on Saturday and said like his opposite number (Warner), there was a fierce will to win in him.
It was a high-scoring and tense finale and SRH won because they were calmer. Warner has been an inspirational leader for the team and was at the forefront with a classy half-century to boot.
Despite facing a fearsome assault from the big RCB opener Chris Gayle, the SRH team kept fighting and once they saw an opening, they stepped up the pressure and choked the fancied Bengaluru outfit out of contention.
"One of the things that go through your mind with a guy like Gayle (is that) he'll always keep going. The hardest thing is to try and maintain our composure while he's going and playing like this," Warner said after the triumph.
"When I spoke to the bowlers, I told them to keep backing themselves and our plan was to bowl wide to him and bowl slower balls. If he hits you for a six, then so be it 'well done, great shot'."
At 100 for no wicket in 9 overs, Warner was running out of options while the home side was running away with the chase. Yet, in a breakthrough lay Sunrisers' route to recovery.
"We always knew if we get a wicket, or two wickets, it is going to be hard for the next person to come in and play their shots. So for us, it was about staying composed and having belief," Warner said.
As he said staying calm mattered most and despite going for runs, the bowlers stuck to the task and in the end that was crucial. Warner has shown that he can lead by example and his runs were key to Hyderabad's victorious run. In the Qualifier-2, he single-handely took SRH to a win and this is a sign of his increasing maturity as a player.
For someone, who was seen as a basher, suited to the shorter formats, Warner has show he can hold his own in Tests too and the Aussie think-tank will be happy with the manner in which the batsman has adapted in varying conditions and also led the team to an unexpected tournament victory.
Source: Newstoday
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