IPL 2019 started as usual, amid great anticipation and fan interest. Though, the main attractions were the two Australia cricketers, Steve Smith and David Warner, who were making a fresh start following their ball-tampering bans.

Cricket Australia allowed both to focus on the IPL instead of playing the one-day series against Pakistan in March, and all eyes were on the former Aussie skipper and his deputy – what kind of reception would they get? How will people react when they take the field?

Mind you, staying away from competitive cricket for an entire year, then making a comeback and performing to the expectation of the people was never going to be easy.

But David Warner of Sunrisers Hyderabad proved everybody wrong over the last five weeks of the 2019 Indian Premier League.