Before things went south for either side, David Warner did what he did for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Warner, now a Delhi Capitals hitter, smashed 12 boundaries and three sixes in a 58-ball undefeated 92 against his previous team on Thursday night, in what many analysts called a “revenge game.” While Warner had a point to make against SRH in the 2022 IPL match at the Brabourne Stadium, he had a good relationship with his old teammates, and despite the carnage, both Kane Williamson and Bhuvneshwar Kumar complimented Warner on his knock, a gesture that won many hearts.

When Delhi batted first, Bhuvneshwar Kumar knocked opener Mandeep Singh for a five-ball duck in the first over, and Sean Abbott bowled Mitchell Marsh in the fifth over to reduce the side to 2 down. But Warner persisted, batting alone for the majority of Delhi’s innings until he was joined by Rovman Powell, who smashed three boundaries and six sixes in an unbeaten 35-ball 67 to help Delhi reach 207 for three in 20 overs.

Following the conclusion of Delhi’s innings, both Williamson and Bhuvneshwar rushed over to congratulate Warner on his outstanding performance, which was praised on social media. “I didn’t need any additional incentive (to play against SRH), we’ve seen what’s occurred in the past, it was fantastic to have the win on the board,” Warner later stated after receiving the Player of the Match award in the post-match presentation.

Warner was a crucial component of SRH till 2021, having guided the team to IPL victory in 2016. Warner, on the other hand, was not only demoted from leadership during the first half of the IPL season in India but he was also benched for most of the competition before being fired by the club. While the cause for it is yet unknown, the undefeated 92 on Thursday spoke a lot.

After winning the toss, SRH chose to bowl first and put pressure on Delhi Capitals by returning Mandeep Singh for naught and taking Mitchell Marsh (10 off 7) off the field in the powerplay. Soon after, skipper Rishabh Pant attempted to seize command and lead the ship in a different direction, but he was forced to return at the age of 26.