Our DC Tigers fought hard throughout the tournament, but alas, we didn’t get what we wanted out of it - A Playoff spot and a shot at the elusive title.
Nonetheless, there were a lot of positive takeaways from the campaign and many performances that we, and our fans, will remember for a long time. Let’s take a look at the Top 5 knocks by DC batters in IPL 2022.
- Mitchell Marsh 89 off 62 vs RR
The Capitals have their task cut out. They’ve got to win all three of their last three league stage encounters to enter the Playoffs. And that is when Mitchell Marsh produced this gem.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to call this masterclass against RR by the Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh was one of his best knocks, as it came right at the time his team needed him the most.
Joining the squad late, and then going through rehab for injury before eventually testing positive for COVID mid-tournament, Mitch had a tough time off the field through the tournament. On the field, he couldn’t convert good starts for a couple of games once he made his way back into the XI after quarantine.
But we knew that the Bison would come good soon.
In a do-or-die encounter against Rajasthan at the DY Patil Stadium, we were set 161 runs to chase on a tricky wicket.
As the chase began, we lost an early wicket bringing in Mitch Marsh on the crease in the very first over. He took the time to settle down on the slow DY Patil wicket but it was just the calm before the storm. He started his special innings with an incredible six over long-off, and then displayed some unbelievable skill throughout the game against what was probably IPL 2022’s best spin attack, as he hit 7 marvelous maximums and 5 boundaries to seal the game for DC with his highest ever IPL score of 89 from 62.
- David Warner 92* off 58 vs SRH
Playing his first game against his former franchise, David Warner made a powerful statement with his explosive innings as he continued his red-hot form and went on to score his highest IPL 2022 score.
Losing the toss, DC Tigers were put on to bat first and even though we lost an early wicket, Davey was right on the money with the very first ball he faced as he sent one for boundary at covers. The southpaw was unstoppable throughout the innings as he went on to pace it smoothly, and laced it with some cracking shots - a total of 12 boundaries and 3 sixes all around the park. The innings turned out to be even more special as he went on to hit his 400th T20 maximum and also his 4th half-century of this season.
One of the most incredible aspects of this knock had nothing to do with batting too. Just before the 20th over of our innings, Rovman Powell asked David Warner, who was unbeaten on 92, whether he wants a single to go for the century. Without any hesitation, Warner told Powell ‘that is not how cricket is played.’
What followed was a 19-run final over with Powell taking on Umran Malik for a maximum and three fours.
Riding on Warner’s commendable knock, the Capitals went to score 207 in 20 overs which was duly defended by the bowlers as DC registered a clinical victory over SunRisers and Davey won the Man of the Match for his performance.
- Rovman Powell 67* off 35 vs SRH
Two of DC’s Top 5 batting performances in one game? Well, that’s how good the DC batting innings and the unbeaten 122-run partnership was in this encounter!
The West Indian power-hitter Rovman Powell didn’t have the best of the starts in IPL 2022. Despite the couple failures at the start, he always had Rishabh Pant’s and Ricky Ponting’s backing.
In the first game against Rajasthan he found his form back by hitting a hat-trick of powerful sixes in the final over which almost took the game home for DC. He never looked back since.
Continuing the good form, Powell Power went all out against SRH as he muscled them out of the park for fun, hitting six marvelous maximums and zero boundaries up until an exciting final over.
In the 20th, he muscled three boundaries off three consecutive deliveries bowled by the express pacer Umran Malik. It seemed like the faster they came, the faster they went. The fastest ball of the season was clocked at 157 kmph in that over. We bet it went way faster than that to the face as it cracked off Powell’s blade and to the cover boundary.
Not just the fans, but even David Warner at the other end roared for him as he went about his business and smashed 67* off 35 balls, finishing the innings with an overpowering 207 runs on the board.
- Prithvi Shaw 61 off 34 vs LSG
The Pocket Dynamo was retained by DC as they found him one of the promising players who can help lay a strong foundation for the coming seasons. And he didn’t prove the DC management wrong as he was exceptional with the bat at the top of the order providing thrilling starts with his orthodox shots.
No match proves this more than the one against Lucknow Super Giants at the DY Patil on April 7.
After losing the toss, DC Men in Blue were put in to bat. Prithvi Shaw started with a bang and took on bowlers like Avesh, Holder and Gowhtam to all parts of the ground. At the end of the powerplay, we had scored 52/0, with 47 of those coming from Shaw’s blade.
He got to a 29-ball 50 and then was dismissed for a scintillating 61 off 34. It’s only after Shaw headed back to the dugout did we all realise that the pitch wasn’t the easiest to bat on. Prithvi Shaw had scored 61 off 34 at a Strike Rate of almost 180, while the rest of the batters had managed 82 off 86 at a Strike Rate of 95.
Alas, the result didn’t go our way as just like Shaw for us, Quinton de Kock played a blinder too despite the rest of the LSG batters not contributing much. Nonetheless, the fact that we lost the close match in the last over shouldn’t take anything away from how good this Shaw knock was.
- David Warner 66 (38) v RCB
The 2022 season will be worth remembering for David Warner as he broke a few records, unlocked a few milestones and played many memorable knocks during his comeback season with Delhi.
David Warner was in top form going into the game against RCB, having just scored his first half-century on return in the previous game. He continued just where he left off, smashing a six off the first ball he faced making his intentions very clear right from the beginning. The tone for the chase was set right by him as he attacked the RCB bowlers making full use of the powerplay.
He went on to score his 10th half century against RCB, and the 2nd in a row in IPL 2022. This special knock included 5 maximums and 4 boundaries as he scored 66 before getting trapped in front trying a reverse hit, followed by a collapse in the middle overs as the match slipped away from our hands.
Despite the result, we’ll remember this knock for David Warner stamping his authority.
Special Mentions
There were some knocks that were special and match-winning in their own right, and they deserve special mention here.
The first one that comes to mind is Mitchell Marsh’s 63 off 48 balls against Punjab Kings in our second-last match of the season. For the second time in as many do-or-die encounters, Mitchell Marsh had stepped up with a special half-century after the fall of an early wicket. This time, the early wicket was the prized one of Warner too.
Another game that stands out for our batting performances is the very first game of the season. Chasing 178, DC had fallen to 72/5 near the halfway mark. Lalit Yadav showed tremendous resilience for his 48* off 38 in a tough situation, and with the help of Shardul Thakur’s cameo, and Axar Patel’s swashbuckling 38* from 17 balls, DC pulled off a miraculous win from the jaws of defeat.
We bid goodbye to this season with fond memories of these knocks, and wait excitedly to see what our batters have in store for us in IPL 2023.
Our DC Tigers fought hard throughout the tournament, but alas, we didn’t get what we wanted out of it - A Playoff spot and a shot at the elusive title.
Nonetheless, there were a lot of positive takeaways from the campaign and many performances that we, and our fans, will remember for a long time. Let’s take a look at the Top 5 knocks by DC batters in IPL 2022.
- Mitchell Marsh 89 off 62 vs RR
The Capitals have their task cut out. They’ve got to win all three of their last three league stage encounters to enter the Playoffs. And that is when Mitchell Marsh produced this gem.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to call this masterclass against RR by the Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh was one of his best knocks, as it came right at the time his team needed him the most.
Joining the squad late, and then going through rehab for injury before eventually testing positive for COVID mid-tournament, Mitch had a tough time off the field through the tournament. On the field, he couldn’t convert good starts for a couple of games once he made his way back into the XI after quarantine.
But we knew that the Bison would come good soon.
In a do-or-die encounter against Rajasthan at the DY Patil Stadium, we were set 161 runs to chase on a tricky wicket.
As the chase began, we lost an early wicket bringing in Mitch Marsh on the crease in the very first over. He took the time to settle down on the slow DY Patil wicket but it was just the calm before the storm. He started his special innings with an incredible six over long-off, and then displayed some unbelievable skill throughout the game against what was probably IPL 2022’s best spin attack, as he hit 7 marvelous maximums and 5 boundaries to seal the game for DC with his highest ever IPL score of 89 from 62.
- David Warner 92* off 58 vs SRH
Playing his first game against his former franchise, David Warner made a powerful statement with his explosive innings as he continued his red-hot form and went on to score his highest IPL 2022 score.
Losing the toss, DC Tigers were put on to bat first and even though we lost an early wicket, Davey was right on the money with the very first ball he faced as he sent one for boundary at covers. The southpaw was unstoppable throughout the innings as he went on to pace it smoothly, and laced it with some cracking shots - a total of 12 boundaries and 3 sixes all around the park. The innings turned out to be even more special as he went on to hit his 400th T20 maximum and also his 4th half-century of this season.
One of the most incredible aspects of this knock had nothing to do with batting too. Just before the 20th over of our innings, Rovman Powell asked David Warner, who was unbeaten on 92, whether he wants a single to go for the century. Without any hesitation, Warner told Powell ‘that is not how cricket is played.’
What followed was a 19-run final over with Powell taking on Umran Malik for a maximum and three fours.
Riding on Warner’s commendable knock, the Capitals went to score 207 in 20 overs which was duly defended by the bowlers as DC registered a clinical victory over SunRisers and Davey won the Man of the Match for his performance.
- Rovman Powell 67* off 35 vs SRH
Two of DC’s Top 5 batting performances in one game? Well, that’s how good the DC batting innings and the unbeaten 122-run partnership was in this encounter!
The West Indian power-hitter Rovman Powell didn’t have the best of the starts in IPL 2022. Despite the couple failures at the start, he always had Rishabh Pant’s and Ricky Ponting’s backing.
In the first game against Rajasthan he found his form back by hitting a hat-trick of powerful sixes in the final over which almost took the game home for DC. He never looked back since.
Continuing the good form, Powell Power went all out against SRH as he muscled them out of the park for fun, hitting six marvelous maximums and zero boundaries up until an exciting final over.
In the 20th, he muscled three boundaries off three consecutive deliveries bowled by the express pacer Umran Malik. It seemed like the faster they came, the faster they went. The fastest ball of the season was clocked at 157 kmph in that over. We bet it went way faster than that to the face as it cracked off Powell’s blade and to the cover boundary.
Not just the fans, but even David Warner at the other end roared for him as he went about his business and smashed 67* off 35 balls, finishing the innings with an overpowering 207 runs on the board.
- Prithvi Shaw 61 off 34 vs LSG
The Pocket Dynamo was retained by DC as they found him one of the promising players who can help lay a strong foundation for the coming seasons. And he didn’t prove the DC management wrong as he was exceptional with the bat at the top of the order providing thrilling starts with his orthodox shots.
No match proves this more than the one against Lucknow Super Giants at the DY Patil on April 7.
After losing the toss, DC Men in Blue were put in to bat. Prithvi Shaw started with a bang and took on bowlers like Avesh, Holder and Gowhtam to all parts of the ground. At the end of the powerplay, we had scored 52/0, with 47 of those coming from Shaw’s blade.
He got to a 29-ball 50 and then was dismissed for a scintillating 61 off 34. It’s only after Shaw headed back to the dugout did we all realise that the pitch wasn’t the easiest to bat on. Prithvi Shaw had scored 61 off 34 at a Strike Rate of almost 180, while the rest of the batters had managed 82 off 86 at a Strike Rate of 95.
Alas, the result didn’t go our way as just like Shaw for us, Quinton de Kock played a blinder too despite the rest of the LSG batters not contributing much. Nonetheless, the fact that we lost the close match in the last over shouldn’t take anything away from how good this Shaw knock was.
- David Warner 66 (38) v RCB
The 2022 season will be worth remembering for David Warner as he broke a few records, unlocked a few milestones and played many memorable knocks during his comeback season with Delhi.
David Warner was in top form going into the game against RCB, having just scored his first half-century on return in the previous game. He continued just where he left off, smashing a six off the first ball he faced making his intentions very clear right from the beginning. The tone for the chase was set right by him as he attacked the RCB bowlers making full use of the powerplay.
He went on to score his 10th half century against RCB, and the 2nd in a row in IPL 2022. This special knock included 5 maximums and 4 boundaries as he scored 66 before getting trapped in front trying a reverse hit, followed by a collapse in the middle overs as the match slipped away from our hands.
Despite the result, we’ll remember this knock for David Warner stamping his authority.
Special Mentions
There were some knocks that were special and match-winning in their own right, and they deserve special mention here.
The first one that comes to mind is Mitchell Marsh’s 63 off 48 balls against Punjab Kings in our second-last match of the season. For the second time in as many do-or-die encounters, Mitchell Marsh had stepped up with a special half-century after the fall of an early wicket. This time, the early wicket was the prized one of Warner too.
Another game that stands out for our batting performances is the very first game of the season. Chasing 178, DC had fallen to 72/5 near the halfway mark. Lalit Yadav showed tremendous resilience for his 48* off 38 in a tough situation, and with the help of Shardul Thakur’s cameo, and Axar Patel’s swashbuckling 38* from 17 balls, DC pulled off a miraculous win from the jaws of defeat.
We bid goodbye to this season with fond memories of these knocks, and wait excitedly to see what our batters have in store for us in IPL 2023.
