Hyderabad’s Love Affair With Two Australian Cricketers

The city of Hyderabad has witnessed two IPL franchises, the Deccan Chargers (2008-2012) and the Sunrisers Hyderabad (2013-present). Both these franchises have won an IPL trophy and another common factor is that both teams were led by an Australian during their successful seasons.

In 2009, it was Adam Gilchrist who took over the reins from Laxman after a horrific first season for the franchise, with the team finishing at the bottom of the table. In 2009 though the tables were turned, and Adam Gilchrist led an unfavorable side to their maiden IPL trophy. There were some big names in the Deccan Chargers, such as Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Symonds, a young Rohit Sharma, and Gilchrist himself.

The problem though was that the bowling did not have the firepower that other teams possessed and there were some inexperienced players such as Shoaib Ahmed and Harmeet Singh who had never previously played cricket on such a grand stage.

Gilchrist extracted the best out of his resources and the way he marshaled his troops on the field was unbelievable. He brought the best out of RP Singh and Fidel Edwards, and when Edwards left he brought in Ryan Harris and made sure that he got early breakthroughs. The man management skills displayed by Gilchrist were outstanding and it is not easy for a foreigner to come into a team with a majority of inexperienced Indians and ensure that they can perform on the big stage.

He was an aggressive captain and always looked to put the opposition on the back-foot but at the same time he knew his team’s limitations and worked around that.

In the finals, we saw the trust Gilchrist had on the likes of Harmeet Singh who took two important wickets and a crucial catch to flip the game on its head. Gilchrist ensured that his players enjoyed their cricket and used his cricketing brain to utilize his resources at the right time.

David Warner, another Australian cricketer, was appointed as the Sunrisers Hyderabad captain in 2015. He had a decent squad with a strong bowling attack and a flamboyant opening batting pair in Dhawan and Warner himself, but there was an apparent weakness in the middle order of the batting line up. Like Gilchrist, Warner is an aggressive cricketer and this reflected in his captaincy as well, as he always goes for the kill whenever he sniffs an opportunity.

In his second year as captain, in 2016, Warner managed to rally his troops and win a first IPL trophy for the Sunrisers franchise, the second for the city of Hyderabad. It was a remarkable effort to defeat a stalwart RCB team in the finals, and throughout the tournament, Warner was brilliant as captain on the field with some brave bowling changes and creative field placements.

Just like Gilchrist, Warner had to deal with a majority Indian contingent and there were even some foreign players who did not speak English, such as Mustafizur Rehman. Mustafizur normally has a translator with him wherever he travels during the IPL but on the pitch, Warner still was able to communicate with the youngster and got the best out of him at key moments in the season.

This is an art in itself and it was something both Gilchrist and Warner perfected while captaining an IPL team. They knew how to get the best out of their players and always looked for a win even if they were in a tricky situation.

David Warner Captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad

Gilchrist and Warner are both Australians, both attacking batsmen, both smart captains, and both led Hyderabad to an IPL championship. In the 2009 IPL semi-final against the Delhi Capitals, Gilchrist scored a thunderous 85 of 35 balls which single-handedly helped the Deccan Chargers into the finals. In the 2016 semi-final, the Sunrisers were struggling in chase of 163 against a solid Gujarat Lions side. That is when skipper David Warner stepped up and scored a rollicking 93 off 58 balls to take his side through to the finals when all the other batsmen were struggling.

Another similarity between Gilchrist and Warner is that both their teams beat a star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL final, who were favorites on both occasions mind you, to topple the team from Hyderabad. Both these players were not afraid to face the mighty RCB, who had a team filled with world-class players on both occasions but they were tactically outmaneuvered by Gilchrist in 2009 and then by Warner in 2016. On both occasions, Hyderabad defended a total and on both occasions, the RCB batting line up was expected to chase down the target but failed to do so. So not only do both these players have common characteristics but they also share similar performances which helped in taking their team to the top of the mountain.

Shane Warne was another Australian who led his team, the Rajasthan Royals, to an IPL title in the debut season itself. Warne did not have a great team on paper, but it was that Australian winning mentality combined with some smart captaincy that helped him turn his team into champions. That is a story for another day though, for now, let’s focus on the link between Hyderabad and Australia.

David Warner is still the captain of the Sunrisers and after being handed a ban last year he will be raring to go, it will be exciting to watch him bat but also keep a close eye on his captaincy and how he manages his boys on the field. Warner has a strong squad this year, and even without him last year the Sunrisers were runners up after they lost to CSK in the final. Williamson did a brilliant job last year as captain, but Warner is back and he will be hoping to lead his side to another successful season.

Whatever happens in the future, both Gilchrist and Warner will be remembered by the Hyderabad faithful as two captains from Australia who lit up the city by lifting the IPL trophy. Catch all the latest IPL Live score, news, playing XI, match predictions, fantasy tips & stats