Dhawan scored the bulk of Hyderabad’s 143/9 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday.
His unbeaten 99-run knock might not have made Punjab Kings win against Sunrisers Hyderabad but it drew appreciation from someone Shikhar Dhawan would have tried to emulate during his childhood.
Dhawan, in 66 balls, scored the bulk of Hyderabad’s 143/9 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Sunday.
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Though it wasn’t enough to propel Punjab to their third consecutive win as Hyderabad chased down the target with 17 balls to spare.
But Hyderabad head coach Brian Lara, himself the leading left hander of his generation, commended Dhawan for the way he paced his innings.
The veteran opener lost partners regularly at the other hand but kept mixing caution with aggression to put a fighting score on the board, which impressed Lara.
“I must commend Shikhar Dhawan. I think it is one of the best innings I’ve ever seen in T20 Cricket,” the West Indian told IPL’s digital broadcasters.
“The way he shepherd the strike and totally just controlled the game.”
Dhawan struck 12 fours and five sixes in a classic counter0punching knock, which weighed much more than a typical T20 century, Chris Gayle, another left hander noted.
“Shikhar was fantastic for his team, and when you keep losing wickets around you, it’s never going to be easy, and to hold the steady nerves and to actually get to that particular total and get to 99 as well,” said the former West Indian opener.
“I thought he deserved a hundred and that’s one of the best innings you will ever see in the IPL as well.”
The 99-run knock was Dhawan’s second half century in three matches in IPL 2023, which made him the Orange Cap holder with most runs (225) in the tournament so far.
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