"Aged like a fine wine!"- Fans rejoice as Shikhar Dhawan's blistering 92 sinks Punjab Kings
Shikhar Dhawan's sensational innings of 92 off just 49 balls ensured that the Delhi Capitals (DC) coasted to a victory over the Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six wickets. The 35-year-old smashed 13 boundaries and two huge maximums as DC made a daunting chase of 195 runs look quite comfortable in the end.
The southpaw has been Team India's third-choice opener after Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in the T20 format. Thus, how he started the IPL 2021 season was going to be important in him redeeming himself. Dhawan has certainly made an impact at the top of the order for DC and currently holds the Orange Cap.
Twitter hails Shikhar Dhawan's whirlwind knock
Fans were absolutely thrilled to see Shikhar Dhawan go berserk against the PBKS bowling attack. The left-hander almost seemed to know the bowlers were going to pitch the ball and KL Rahul's men simply had no answer to Dhawan's belligerent hitting.
DC have ended their Mumbai leg of the tournament with two wins out of three and will be reasonably happy with the way they have started in this tournament. Here is what the fans had to say about their team's performance and Shikhar Dhawan's blistering knock:
Although PBKS posted a daunting 194-4 in their 20 overs, the dew at the Wankhede Stadium was always going to be a defining factor in the game. Moreover, PBKS had only just defended a huge target of 222 by a slim margin of 5 runs.
The DC camp knew that if they put the opposition bowlers under pressure, they could leak runs. This is exactly what happened as the DC openers Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan got them off to a flying start.
Dhawan played second fiddle until Shaw was at the crease. But once the youngster was dismissed, the 35-year-old just effortlessly changed gears and took DC ahead in the chase. He dispatched all the PBKS bowlers with disdain and ensured that his team didn't fall behind the required rate.
Shikhar Dhawan's blitzkrieg spoiled the party of birthday boy KL Rahul. As DC march on to play their next set of games in Chennai, PBKS have a lot to think about as their bowling attack appears to be the least dangerous in the league.