David Warner truth emerges after latest Delhi shocker in the IPL

Pressure continues to mount on Aussie cricket star David Warner after another disappointing display for his winless Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. Warner's side slumped to a fifth straight defeat after going down to Royal Challengers Bangalore by 23 runs in Bengaluru.

Warner's role at the top of the order for Delhi has come under fire from fans this season, with many insisting his strike rate has not been good enough to set a competitive platform with the bat. The 36-year-old has also faced widespread scrutiny about whether he is the right man to captain the Delhi side, who are coached by Australian legend Ricky Ponting.

BACKLASH: Warne funeral report sparks uproar after $1.6 million revelation

'CAN'T BELIEVE THAT': 'Embarrassing' moment stuns fans in IPL epic

The IPL veteran was once again asked to hold the Delhi innings together as wickets tumbled around him early on - with Australian teammate Mitch Marsh among those removed after a four-ball duck. The Delhi skipper tried in vain to anchor his side's innings in spite of the top-order collapse, but holed out for 19 off 13 balls.

Warner and Ponting cut glum figures on the bench as the Capitals succumbed to 9-151, with only Manish Pandey's 50 helping them get anywhere near RCB's 6-174. Despite succumbing to another concerning defeat, Warner tried to put a positive spin on the team's predicament after the match.

"We have to have a hard look at ourselves and come back strong with five days off," Warner said. "Things aren't working at the moment, but teams have come back from 0-5 so hopefully we can be that second team."

"The positives were great, with our bowling and fielding exceptional. Our attitude and energy were amazing. But yet again it was just our batting. We're going to have to try to work out how we're going to take on the powerplay and not lose early wickets, especially in the first two or three overs."

While much of the spotlight will invariably fall on Warner after his side's latest failure, the truth is the Aussie is currently the second-highest run-scorer in the competition. Warner's batting has effectively been carrying the Capitals, although his 228 runs in five innings have come at a strike rate of 116.92 - which is much slower than other top-line batters in the IPL.

Warner's latest innings has left the cricket world divided, with critics continuing to point to his strike rate as not being up to T20 standard. Others argued that Delhi's persistent struggles with the bat mean the Aussie veteran has had to bat more conservatively than he normally would.

Delhi Capitals rooted to bottom of IPL table

Debutant medium-pacer Vijaykumar Vyshak was the key man for RCB, with his 3-20 doing most to restrict Delhi's chase. Earlier, RCB's maestro Virat Kohli scored his 47th IPL half-century by making 50 off 34 balls, including six fours and a six, to launch their innings. Aussie allrounder Marsh did well to restrict RCB's total after taking 2-18 off two overs.

Glenn Maxwell belted 24 off 14 balls, with three big sixes in an entertaining cameo which helped ensure Delhi remain rooted at the bottom of the table. They are the only team yet to win a match in this season's IPL.

In the day's later game at Lucknow, Matt Short, Australia's BBL player of the tournament, again showed his worth with another sparkling little knock of 34 off 22 balls for Punjab Kings, which helped them squeeze to a two-wicket win over the hosting Lucknow Super Giants. Lucknow made 8-159, centred on captain KL Rahul's 74 off 56 and decorated with a couple of huge Marcus Stoinis sixes in his 11-ball knock of 15.

But Punjab reached 8-161, with Short's five fours and a six at the top of the innings helping provide the launch pad. Sikandar Raza's 57 and an unbeaten 23 from Shahrukh Khan got them across the line.

with AAP

Sign up to our newsletter and score the biggest sport stories of the week.