“DC will expect runs from David Warner” - Aakash Chopra admits Aussie batter looked rusty in his 1st IPL 2022 match

Former India opener Aakash Chopra admitted that Australian batter David Warner looked rusty in his first match for the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the IPL 2022 season. He, however, added that, given his experience and reputation, the franchise will expect the aggressive left-hander to fire against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday, according to the IPL 2022 schedule.

Warner played his first IPL 2022 match when DC took on the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on April 7. He was dismissed for just four off 12 balls while trying to take on leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi.

Delhi will now face KKR at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday. Previewing the game on his YouTube channel, Chopra analyzed DC’s batting and said:

“DC will expect runs from David Warner. He was rusty in his first game for DC this season, which is fine. Prithvi Shaw batted very well in the last match. Sarfaraz Khan batted well down the order, that’s one positive that has come out. Rishabh Pant eventually found some rhythm towards the end of the innings in the last game.”

Delhi got off to a rollicking start against LSG as Shaw hammered 61 off 34 balls. However, Lucknow fought back to restrict DC to 149 for three. While Pant remained unbeaten on 39 off 36, Sarfaraz scored 36* off 28.

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“Powell should be given the finishing role” - Aakash Chopra suggests changes to DC’s batting tactics

Against Lucknow, Delhi promoted Rovman Powell to No. 3 following Shaw’s dismissal. The ploy did not work as the West Indian big-hitter was dismissed by Bishnoi for just three runs.

According to Chopra, Powell is better suited for the finisher’s role and DC could look to move Sarfaraz up the order or bring in Kona Bharat. He opined:

“DC sent Rovman Powell at three in the last game, but the move didn’t work. Powell should be given the finishing role. Sarfaraz can move up the order. They can think about Kona Bharat as well. That’s the kind of thought process that they can go with.”

Describing the bowling as okay, the 44-year-old pointed out that Delhi cannot use Lalit Yadav's off-spin a lot against KKR because the opposition doesn’t have too many left-handers. The cricketer-turned-commentator stated:

“DC’s bowling is okay. Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel are not really having a great time. Lalit Yadav is bowling regularly, but DC cannot do that against KKR. They do not have so many left-handers and the ones who bat left-handed are very attacking players.”

Intriguingly, Yadav bowled his complete quota of four overs against LSG while Axar bowled only two overs, conceding just 11 runs.