Both with bat and as captain, David Warner is bringing a much-required calmness to Hyderabad

David Warner ran amok against the Kolkata Knight Riders’ bowling order on Sunday. But, in hindsight, this onslaught was justifiably building up, given the way he has had been playing in the tournament this far. It starting with his first half-century in the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s second match – against the Gujarat Lions.

The 30-year-old is one of those few select contemporary cricketers, who have been able to adapt themselves adroitly in all three formats of the game. As such, the brilliance of his batting shines through, not only through his pinch-hitting – which came about freely against the Knight Riders – but also through his smart manoeuvre of keeping the scoreboard moving through singles and two’s.

Not that the tactic is always pitch-perfect. At times, when trying to go for his shots, Warner has a certain sense of urgency about him. It is as though he perceives the tally on the scoreboard is not ticking along as fast he expects it to shape up. This results in him trying to up the ante and, most of the time, lose his wicket as a reward for his actions.

However, while this psyche of Warner does pay dividends to a bowler, it is also problematic in that the entirety of the bowling contingent has to bide its time, by which time both the runs scored and the run-rate end up ratcheting sky-high. And, it is this trait of Warner that emphasises his qualitative appeal as a batsman: He is able to turn his cons into veritable positives for his team, and himself.

When captaincy speaks loudest

Warner also adopts a similar approach in his line of duty as the team captain, which has been a big factor in the Sunrisers’ successes in these last two years.

By all means, the Sunrisers are a lopsided outfit and this has been proven several times over in the IPL. In fact, while the sheen of Warner’s batting – and fielding – crowded out everyone else on the field against the Knight Riders, it couldn’t hide the fact that once Warner got out, the pace of the team’s batting innings slowed down considerably. There again, Williamson’s swift knock helped, but Yuvraj Singh struggled to provide momentum. It didn’t matter on the day, but once the tournament enters its business end, undeniably more will be needed – and wanted – from the remaining players as well.

Irrespective of these subtle tripping potentialities, Warner’s penchant for melding expectations with unhesitating support towards his teammates has ensured that while the Sunrisers have struggled to tilt the outcomes in their favour at times, they have come up with redeeming performances in one way or the other.

Moreover, valid as it is that Warner has come to have certain picks within the team – towards whom he turns to in the direst of situations – it hasn’t stopped him from stepping outside of his comfort box, time and again. This tactical ingenuity of his has, thus, also helped the Sunrisers mount a few surprises – and even comebacks – with the opposing teams least expecting it.

On a personal front, it has made him out to be the choicest pick to lead a team. In the short-term, for the Sunrisers Hyderabad as he has been all along and in the long-term, for the Australian national team.