IPL 2023: We need to do better with the bat – David Warner after loss against RCB

Delhi Capitals captain David Warner reckons they need to perform better with the bat after their fifth consecutive loss of the season against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.

DC had to chase down 175 runs but they could only manage 151-9 after their 20 overs. Warner feels they should have chased down the target with ease but they ended up losing the game by 23 runs.

In fact, DC is yet to get on the board as they have lost all of their five matches. Manish Pandey scored 38-ball 50 but apart from him, none of the DC batters could get going on a belter of the pitch in Bengaluru.

Prithvi Shaw (impact player) and Mitchell Marsh were dismissed without troubling the scorers and it ended up putting their team on the back foot. In fact, none of the DC batters could not pass the 25-run mark, barring Manish Pandey.

Delhi hasn’t batted at their best in the five matches they have played and it has led to their downfall. The David Warner-led team hasn’t been able to come up with a collective show with their bat and their batters will need to take the onus on their shoulders.

David Warner said in the post-match presentation, “I said at the toss we needed to do all disciplines well, but we lost three early wickets and we didn’t chase down what should have been an easy chase. They (RCB) came out and started well with the ball, Siraj was outstanding. The positives were good – bowling and fielding was exceptional, the energy we showed was great too. Have to go back, we have five days off, have a hard look at ourselves, we need to do better with the bat and build partnerships at the top of the order. It is a matter of starting well with the bat. Teams have come back well from this position before and we can go on and do better.”

On the other hand, RCB’s debutant Vijaykumar Vyshak made an impression in his first match. The right-arm fast-medium returned with figures of 3-20, the best for an RCB bowler on debut.

He said after the game, “I didn’t know about that (on having the best bowling figures on debut for an RCB bowler), have been working hard for the opportunity. Faf came and told me the wicket was holding up a bit, so I went with the hard lengths and slower balls which worked well. I’ve been working on these variations for the last couple of years. I wanted to bowl the knuckle ball, but Faf came up with suggestions on how to go about on this pitch. The management backed me well and Faf came up with suggestions often to help me. I was with the team as a net bowler”

Delhi Capitals will next face Kolkata Knight Riders at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Thursday.