Sport is a great leveller. A couple of months ago, David Warner could not find a place in the Sunrisers Hyderabad XI in the IPL 2021. Heck, for few games, Warner did not even come to the ground and stayed at the hotel even as SRH struggled in their campaign. A three-time Orange Cap winner, Warner was axed as captain of the team and eventually lost his place in the side as well.
And here he is now, part of Australia’s maiden T20 World Cup winning side and emerging as the Player of the Tournament. Having dropped by SRH and former England coach Trevor Bayliss, Warner could not have wished for a better redemption story. He tallied 289 runs from seven matches, with scores of 89*, 49 and 53 in the last three games.
Speaking after the match, Australia's T20 World Cup winning captain thanked Warner's critics for 'poking the bear'. "I can't believe people wrote him off a couple of weeks ago saying he was done. It was like poking the bear," Finch said after the match.
Warner became the second player after Kevin Pietersen to win the Player-of-the-Tournament award from a T20 World Cup winning side. During the post-match press conference, when a reporter asked Finch how did he manage to back Warner as no one expected him to be the Player of the Tournament, the skipper said he did.
"I called Justin Langer a few months ago and said: 'Don't worry about Davey, he'll be Man of the Tournament'. He's one of the all-time great batters. And he's a fighter. He's someone who when his back is against the wall, that's when you get the very, very best of David Warner. It was a special finish to the tournament for him, the last couple of knocks," Finch mentioned.
0 Comments