I had told Rishabh Pant to trust me at No.5: Rovman Powell

One of the craziest hitters of the cricket ball, Rovman Powell forged an unbeaten 122-run partnership with David Warner off just 11 overs to ensure Delhi Capitals ended up with a heavy total on board. That he could hit the pacer at will was never in question but the way he took on the spinners from the very beginning brought a different dynamic to the DC batting.

Speaking of the innings, Powell stated that it was the extra responsibility of batting higher up the order that worked like a charm.

"Sometimes, I could not hit it as well as I wanted to, some of the swings were planned. The wicket was good, I planned and shaped up for the full and slower balls and the shots came off towards the end. I chatted with Rishabh about my batting position, I told him to trust me at 5 as my game against spin. I tried to get in for 15 balls and then accelerate in the next 20,” Powell said in the post-match presentation.

"I came to the IPL knowing that I'm in good form, knowing that I've done a lot of work. At the start of the IPL, it was a little bit tough for me. I just keep believing in myself. I had a conversation with Rishabh, explaining to him that I was a little bit disappointed to bat at No. 8 in that game. 

“But it is the nature of the game, whatever the situation you have been placed in, you have to do your best. Rishabh and the coach [Ricky Ponting], they came up with a conclusion and plan and let me bat a little bit earlier now."

Powell had walked the talk, having scored just 21 runs off the first 19 balls he faced but then he made sure he would sit ply along in a rapid pace to add another 46 runs in the next 16 balls. That made Delhi Capitals’ Assistant coach Shane Watson heap praise on the Jamaican.

"I haven't really seen him bat a lot in the last couple of years, but once I saw him in the nets for the first couple of training sessions I had with him, he hit the ball a long way," Watson said. "And without having to really overhit the ball, the ball still travels. That's the beauty of seeing him come together over the last three games in particular.

"It took him just one innings, against KKR, to really find his groove and get his rhythm, his mindset and technique from ball one. From then on, he has been absolutely outstanding. He's a world-class batsman in all types of conditions against quality fast bowling and some very fast bowling we saw tonight from Umran Malik."