Hyderabad: Signing off his IPL campaign with another match-winning half-century to help Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) take a step closer towards qualifying for the play-offs, David Warner said the cash-rich tournament is a stepping stone for the World Cup which starts May 30 in England and Wales.
Playing his last match of season Monday night before heading home for World Cup preparations, Warner struck a belligerent 81 off 56 balls to complete his IPL 2019 campaign with 692 runs, the highest so far in the tournament, and guided SRH to a 45-run win over Kings XI Punjab.
“I am looking forward to the World Cup and this (IPL) was a stepping stone to that,” said the left-handed opener at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“This World Cup, you’ll see some high scores. Hopefully the ball doesn’t swing as much. Obviously England are the home team and they’re great. We are the reigning champions and for us it is going out there backing our abilities and being our best selves,” he added.
Warner along with Steve Smith were handed 12-month bans by Cricket Australia for their role in ball-tampering in South Africa last year, a punishment which both the players have already served.
“I have had time off to work harder at my game. Put the bat down for 16-18 weeks and just worked hard on being the best father and best husband that has worked for me. Yeah, I try to be the funny man in the team, the prankster.
“It’s obviously great to get out there and do your job properly. We’ve got a great deck to bat on. The groundstaff have worked tirelessly to prepare good wickets and then it’s about going back to basics and backing your instincts,” said Warner.
“I think it just goes back to being still as a batsman. I get the tendency to moving around a bit if there have been a few dots. But I have worked hard over the last few months. The gameplan is to back yourself, just back your natural game,” he added.
Meanwhile, there were all words of praise from SRH skipper Kane Williamson and said it was a complete performance from his team.
“I guess through the season you’re looking for points and we’re in the crunch time in the tournament. It was a big game for us and it’s been close to a complete performance,” the Kiwi skipper said.
“Warner and (Jonny) Bairstow have been world class and it will be very hard to fill their boots. But as a team, we’ll have to pick up the slack. You’re always looking for more runs.”
KXIP skipper Ravihandran Ashwin however said his side was completely outplayed by SRH.
“It’s not right to think about what’s happened in the past. It’s important to stay in the present. We were just completely outplayed today, which hasn’t happened this season,” said Ashwin.