The Ball Was Swinging & Nipping Around During Powerplay, Says Mitchell Marsh

Mitchell Marsh and David Warner shared a stand of 144 runs to chase down 161 and secure a much-needed win by eight wickets against Rajasthan Royals.

When Mitchell Marsh walked in to bat after KS Bharat fell for a two-ball duck, Delhi Capitals hadn't been off the mark.

Marsh and David Warner would struggle for the next two overs as Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna found some swing and bowled tight lengths to keep the Australian duo quiet.

Marsh had a huge slice of luck on his side when Boult got one to swing in and hit his right foot. Replays later showed that Marsh would have been trapped lbw if Rajasthan had taken the DRS. From there onwards, Marsh and Warner shared a stand of 144 runs to chase down 161 and secure a much-needed win by eight wickets.

"If you looked at the powerplay tonight for both teams, the ball was swinging around, also nipping around, probably one of the tougher powerplays I've batted in since I started playing T20 cricket. We just had to get through that unscathed. If we are two or three down in power-play, the game gets really hard. So, we assessed that we have got to cut back on our runs and make sure we're one down at the end of the power play," said Marsh in the post-match virtual press conference.

Marsh credited Rajasthan's bowling for keeping them quiet initially but felt that with a target like 160 on a two-paced pitch, a big partnership was enough to get Delhi over the line. "Lot of credit to them (Royals), they bowled exceptionally well in the powerplay to us and made it really tough. But chasing 160, you only need that one big partnership and that was our main focus. The last 18 months, I've just loved batting with Davey (Warner). Him opening and me batting at three, we've had a lot of great partnerships. Tonight, was a memorable one for the Delhi Capitals."

Marsh, who led the chase with a 62-ball 89, felt batting with Warner, who remain unconquered at 52 off 41 balls, brings out the friendship element between the two. "In terms of the way he goes about it, he's someone I've looked up to for a long time now. I feel I have been very lucky, over the last 18 months, to have been able to bat with him a lot and form a great partnership and also, great friendship."

"The friendship side of things really comes out in the middle of the game, been a lot of fun. His experience, calmness - you can all see how much he loves winning. It feels like he's back to where it all began for him in Delhi. He's been super consistent this year, I love batting with him."

This was Marsh's first major contribution in a Delhi win in IPL 2022, including his figures of 2/25 in three overs with his right-arm pace after being troubled by a hip flexor injury and then being infected with Covid-19. Marsh, 30, felt that Wednesday's all-round performance was a reward for him for sticking to his processes despite off-field obstacles.

"In the first two games of IPL, I was just coming off my injury (hip flexor) and sort of Covid came in. I felt pretty rusty to be fair and felt like hadn't played in a couple of months. But in the last three to four games, I feel I have been batting well but was unable to get the big scores."

"In the past, I would have questioned myself more on what I was doing. I stuck to my processes in last few weeks and today is a great reward for that. Just making sure I am physically and mentally fresh. Hoping to put in more performances for Delhi."