David Warner has steered Delhi Capitals to an unexpected victory in the Indian Premier League with a captaincy masterclass, maintaining their revival after a disastrous start to the competition.
Capitals lost their first five matches, but this second successive win brings them within four points of the play-offs with the league almost at the mid-point.
After a patchy batting display, in which Warner made 21 and Mitch Marsh 25, Capitals were left to defend 144 against Sunrisers Hyderbad, a modest total in the high-scoring 20-over competition.
But marshalling his bowlers and fielders shrewdly Warner oversaw an improbable seven-run victory, made all the sweeter having been axed in 2021 by a Sunrisers franchise he had led for several seasons.
Warner's captaincy ambitions with Australia were ended by the 2018 sandpaper ball-tampering scandal, and his refusal in December to submit to an appeal process he said would be a "media circus".
But he retains his cricket smarts and it showed in front of a passionate orange-clad crowd in Hyderbad on Monday.
"I love it here. It's an amazing crowd," said Warner.
"Thankfully my hair can only go white from here, it can't go grey. This game throws up some challenges. You don't want them to get used to bowlers in back-to-back overs so if I can manoeuvre them around in the middle overs it can work."
Opting to bat Capitals lost Englishman Phil Salt third ball bringing Marsh to the crease very much under pressure.
Marsh had scored six runs in four innings this IPL, with two ducks, but Warner and coach Ricky Ponting had kept faith with their fellow Australian.
He came out blazing, getting off the mark by striking Marco Jansen's first over for a quartet of fours and a three
Marsh and Warner had added 38 in 25 balls before the allrounder was dismissed for a 15-ball 25, leg before on review after T Natarajan brought one back to him.
Warner had hit four fifties in his six IPL outings this year, but uncharacteristically not hit a six. He ended that oddity by sweeping Sundar Washington over deep square leg but was caught by Harry Brook for 21 off 20 trying to repeat the feat.
From 1-39 Delhi were soon 5-65 but Axar Patel (a run-a-ball 34) and Manish Pandey (34 off 27) rebuilt the innings with a partnership of 69 in ten overs before Patel was dismissed.
Pandey was then the first of three run-outs as Capitals dragged themselves to 9-144. For Sunrisers Sundar took 3-28 and executed a run-out.
Four balls into Sunrisers' reply Marsh, diving full length at slip, dropped Mayank Agarwal, who had edged his first ball. With Anrich Nortje bowling fast it was a tough chance but Agarwal made Delhi pay, going on to 49 off 39 balls.
At the other end, however, Brook was struggling. After Warner was persuaded to burn a review on an inside edge the Englishman was bowled for a 14-ball seven boldly trying to scoop Nortje. Either side of his unbeaten 100 a fortnight ago the much-acclaimed Brook has now made 63 in six innings.
The slow start put Sunrisers behind the rate which grew steadily as Warner rotated his bowlers with Capitals' spinners proving hard to get away.
Heinrich Klaasen, with 31 off 19, and Sundar, with 24 not out off 15, threatened to chase the target down, but when Capitals' win became certain Warner leaped in the air, his clenched-fist, wide-grinned joy evident to behold.
