IPL 9: David Warner bros entertainment

For someone who lays it all out there on the field, a passion for the game that over-rides everything else, David Warner is a typical leader of men. Bold with his statements, brutal with the bat, brash in his demeanour at times, though he has mellowed a lot in recent times, Warner brings to board the most important facet: a man who strives for brilliance and raises the bar in pursuit of excellence.

For someone who doesn’t attach too much importance to the Big Bash at home (hasn’t played since 2013) and prefers to concentrate on Tests towards the end of the year, his first IPL trophy with Sunrisers Hyderabad, in their maiden final against Royal Challengers Bangalore speaks volumes of his dedication to the team.

It reveals how much the tournament means to him.

As he walked in for the post-presentation, post-match briefing, he held the glittering trophy close. And no, he wasn’t strutting his stuff. He was just driving home the point that it meant the world to him.

For someone who played under the shadow of Shikhar Dhawan and Darren Sammy before being given the reins last season, Warner, with guidance from Tom Moody and V.V.S. Laxman has lifted the Sunrisers from being underachievers to a glorious champion outfit.

It reveals how much an inspirational leader he is.

For all his stunning form, racking up 848 runs in 17 games with nine 50s, the hard-hitting Aussie is quick to point out that it’s the collective effort from an attack boasting the likes of a wily Ashish Nehra (before he was injured), a wicket-taking Bhuvneshwar Kumar and a miserly left-armer in Mustafizur Rahman that complemented his batting efforts.

His rapid-fire 69 off just 38 deliveries set them up for a big total but a middle order collapse raised fears of a burnout before another Aussie, Ben Cutting, picked up in the auction at his base price of Rs 50 lakh, showed what an all-rounder can do in this format. On hindsight, Cutting’s assault on Shane Watson smashing him for 24 off the final over propelled them from 180-thereabouts to the eventual 208/7. “I thought at one stage there that we might have struggled to get 180-190. An exceptional knock and a great performance from Ben Cutting to come out and do what he did. That shows – we go back to the auction with the belief of our coach Tom and Laxman and Shami who had the belief that we needed another allrounder to be there,” said Warner, composed after the emotional win and holding onto the trophy. After losing the toss, Kohli claimed he was happy bowling first but Warner, like many, believes that in a pressure game, runs on the board first-up matters.

“I’m firm believer that runs on the board in a final situation puts pressure on and 208 to me equals almost 215-220 in these situations. But we always know that if they get off to a good start, it is always about staying calm. They were ahead of the game, they were more than 10 an over, and there was no panic from our bowlers. The best thing I can say about our bowling unit and being accountable as bowlers is they executed what they wanted to bowl.

“Yeah we won, but even if we were on the other side of the result, they kept on believing and backing themselves to execute what they go out to every day,” said the Sunrisers skipper.

Having said that, Sunrisers were playing their third straight high-pressure game in five days, unlike the Challengers, who were coming in from a four-day break.

“We don’t talk too much about what we have to go out there and do. It’s about having the belief inside ourselves to execute. People are going to have their days, some people aren’t. But a couple of individuals (need) to step up from time to time and what happens when you play these team games, that’s how you win. Everyone contributes. The last three games, we knew we had to win all three games to win the IPL and credit to everyone. We have been able to achieve that, and by all means, we are going to celebrate tonight.” For someone who lays his heart out threadbare, Sunday’s eight-run to silence the Challengers in their citadel would have upped the celebration quotient.

Maybe, just maybe, Warner went to bed — if he did at all after the partying — with the trophy tucked in.