Rovman Powell scored his maiden IPL fifty during Delhi Capitals’ clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2022 on Thursday, May 5. The West Indian hit five sixes to get to his half-century off 30 balls.
Powell, who was promoted up the order, hit 6 sixes and three boundaries to give the perfect finish to Delhi’s innings which was anchored by Australian opener David Warner.
David Warner reserved his best for his former franchise as he hit 12 boundaries and 3 sixes to remain unbeaten on 92, while Rovman Powell on the other end bludgeoned 6 sixes and 3 boundaries to remain unbeaten on 67 off 35 balls as Delhi Capitals scored 207/3 in 20 overs against SunRisers Hyderabad.
Warner, who hit his 4th fifty of IPL 2022 and created a world record for scoring most T20 fifties by overtaking Chris Gayle’s record of 88 with his 89th fifty, was on 92 when the last over began and Rovman Powell could very well have given the strike to the southpaw to have a crack at a century.
But being the team man that Warner is, he asked the youngster to not worry about taking a single and instead asked him to go hell for leather.
Powell hit one six and three boundaries as DC scored 19 off the last over to get a total in excess of 200. Powell revealed his conversation with Warner before the start of the final over in the mid-innings break.
“I was trying my best. I wanted him to get to a hundred, but he asked me to hit as hard as I could, and wasn’t bothered about his own hundred (about Warner). Sometimes you plan for a particular ball, be it the slower or the yorker, but the pitch is so good and the ball was coming on nicely,” Powell said.
He also said that he had asked DC skipper Rishabh Pant to let him bat up the order.
“I had a conversation with Pant a few days back in the hotel room, he asked me where I wanted to bat, I just asked him to have trust in me. I have improved my game against the spinners as well as the pacers, want to give myself a chance, play some 10-15 balls and then play the shots,” he added.