No end to David Warner’s nightmare as IPL horror show gets worse

A four-month holiday has done little to improve David Warner’s fortunes at the crease, with the Aussie failing in his long-awaited return.

David Warner’s Indian Premier League nightmare has taken another ugly turn, with the Australian batter dismissed for a duck in Wednesday evening’s match against the Delhi Capitals.

Back in May, Warner was dropped from the Sunrisers Hyderabad line-up following a string of underwhelming performances in the IPL’s first leg.

It came after the Sunrisers announced New Zealand’s Kane Williamson would replace the 34-year-old as captain for the remainder of the T20 tournament.

But the four-month break has seemingly done little to improve Warner’s fortunes at the crease.

Watch Every Match of the VIVO IPL 2021 Season Live with FOX SPORTS on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >

Recalled to the Sunrisers starting XI for Wednesday’s match, South African speedster Anrich Nortje removed the left-hander for a third-ball duck as Hyderabad suffered a heavy defeat in Dubai.

Warner attempted to awkwardly swat a length delivery through mid-wicket, but a thick leading edge ballooned towards point where Axar Patel claimed a simple catch.

“Warner goes, his confidence doesn’t survive five months,” former England captain Kevin Pietersen said in commentary.

This half-hearted pull shot has plagued Warner throughout his professional career and remains a flawed part of an otherwise impeccable batting technique.

Warner has scored 193 runs in seven innings during the 2021 IPL at an average of 27.57, but his pitiful strike rate of 108.42 is what would frustrate Sunrisers fans.

It ranks as the lowest strike rate of any IPL player with at least 85 runs this season.

#DavidWarner departs for a duck.

Worst possible start for SRH in their first game of the UAE leg of the IPL 2021.#IPL2021#CricketTwitter#DCvSRHpic.twitter.com/6HuN50eeUB

— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) September 22, 2021

Warner looking very rusty and was a sitting duck for high speed short of a length bowling from Nortje. #IPL2021#DCvSRH

— Kevin Yam 任建峰 (@kevinkfyam) September 22, 2021

Nothing going right for Sunrisers Hyderabad. T Natarajan declared Covid positive earlier in the day and David Warner dismissed for a blob in the first over to increase the stress

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) September 22, 2021

Warner is known for his trademark aggression at the start of the innings, but the Australian powerhouse has uncharacteristically struggled to find the boundary rope this year, a concerning sign weeks out from a T20 World Cup campaign.

Warner led the Sunrisers to their maiden IPL title in 2016, but lost the captaincy after the infamous ball-tampering saga in 2018.

Williamson took over the role during the 2018 and 2019 tournaments before Warner reclaimed the captaincy last year.

The 34-year-old has been the highest run-scorer in an IPL tournament on three occasions and last season became the fastest player to reach 5000 runs in the glamorous T20 competition.

Hyderabad is reeling at the bottom of the IPL ladder, having registered just one victory in eight games.

Aussie cricket fans will be sweating on the fitness of Marcus Stoinis. Picture: Twitter/Delhi Capitals

Meanwhile, Australian cricket fans will be sweating on the fitness of Marcus Stoinis after the all-rounder suffered a left hamstring injury during his IPL return on Wednesday.

The West Australian grimaced in pain after the first ball of his second over and limped off the field, playing no further part in the contest.

Australian teammate Steve Smith stepped in as a substitute fielder, having been overlooked for the starting line-up.

Earlier that day, Sunrisers bowler Thangarasu Natarajan tested positive for COVID-19 and six members of the Hyderabad team were put into isolation as close contacts.

With NCA NewsWire