"Asked him if he wanted a single to get a hundred" - DC's Rovman Powell reveals chat with David Warner before 20th over
Rovman Powell and David Warner added 102 runs to steer the Delhi Capitals (DC) to 207/3 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Brabourne Stadium on Thursday, May 5.
After a moderate start where they lost Mandeep Singh and Mitchell Marsh in quick succession, Rishabh Pant and Warner took on the bowlers. The DC captain smashed Shreyas Gopal for 22 runs in four balls before playing the fifth on to the stumps.
In walked the hard-hitting West Indian and he along with David Warner pressed the gears. They took the Hyderabad bowlers to the cleaners to post a mammoth total on the board.
I don’t know who wins this game. Rovman Powell preached the truth about some of these players pigeonholed as finishers. Give them the chance to bat higher. Trust them for a few games and they will advance an innings better than most. Miller, Pollard, Russell, Hetmyer etc.
Meanwhile, both Rovman Powell and Warner were approaching individual milestones before the start of the final over. While Powell needed one run for his fifty, Warner needed another eight to register his first century in IPL 2022.
Throwing light on the conversation with Warner ahead of the final over, the 28-year-old all-rounder said in post-innings talks with the broadcasters:
"I asked him if he wanted a single to get a hundred but he told me this isn't how we play cricket and I should try to smack it as far as I can and as hard as I can and I did it."
Powell eventually finished on 67 runs, scoring 19 runs off Umran Malik's final over, while Warner scored 92* off just 58 deliveries to guide the Capitals to a mammoth total.
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"He asked me where I wanted to bat" - Rovman Powell on his chat with DC captain Rishabh Pant
Rovman Powell in the last 5 Innings in this IPL 2022:-
35(15).
33*(16).
35(21).
1*(2).
67*(35). https://t.co/9yqywH85cP
The Jamaican cricketer had a below-par start to the IPL 2022 campaign. However, the management showed trust in his abilities, a decision that has earned dividends.
Powell also revealed his conversation with skipper Pant where he urged the latter to trust him and play at No.5. He was promoted in the batting and since then, has been in spectacular form in the last few games, providing stability to Delhi's middle-order.
Rovman Powell added:
"I had a conversation with Pant a few days back in the hotel room, he asked me where I wanted to bat, I just asked him to have trust in me. wanted to bat at number 5 since over the last year I've been batting there. I have improved my game against the spinners as well as the pacers, want to give myself a chance, play some 10-15 balls and then play the shots."
Meanwhile, Hyderabad were 24/2 after five overs with Abhishek Sharma and Kane Williamson back in the hut at the time of writing. It remains to be seen whether SRH can manage to chase down this total.