IPL2021: Shikhar Dhawan leads DC to victory, Pant calls the effort commendable

Shikhar Dhawan has been excellent with the bat in the ongoing Indian Premier League as he has led the team from front to chase down big targets in an effortless fashion. On Sunday, his 92 helped Delhi Capital chase down 196 against Kings XI Punjab conveniently. 

For the shortest form of cricket, this is considered a high-scoring total but with Dhawan roaring from the front, the target did not seem to bother the Pant and co. Rishabh Pant took note of the effort made by Dhawan as heaped praises for his senior teammate. 

It took merely 42 balls for Dhawan to smash 92 off his bat at the Wankhede Stadium and despite the best efforts of Punjab, Delhi took the game away from the red guns in 18.2 overs. There was no reason for Pant to be not satisfied with his teammates’ efforts especially when the win took the team to second place in the tournament. 

Pant overtook Shreyas Iyer as the captain of the Delhi Capitals after the latter got injured during England tour India. The young wicket-keeper batsman appreciated bowler’s efforts but had something special in store for Dhawan as he said, “There are many things you can talk to with Shikhar but at the end of the day what he’s given to the team is commendable.”

As for the bowlers he added that it is a great effort by them as they managed to keep Punjab in the 190s, which he added was a defendable score for them. He shared a little about his captaincy saying that even though he already started enjoying captaincy, he was under pressure at the beginning as ‘the wicket was not doing much and they had a good start.’

Dhawan picked up the Player of the Match trophy at the end and it came as no surprise given the match winning effort by the experienced player. This is after a long time that fans are witnessing this kind of aggression from Dhawan’s side. No doubt he has been reliable for the Indian team but the 2021 IPL is witnessing the old Dhawan pattern, which was being missed by his fans. 

He along with Prithvi Shaw partnered for 59 runs in 5.2 overs and even though Shaw could not continue for very long, Dhawan kept on charging with boundaries. Shaw got out for 32 off 17 balls. 

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Dhawan said while receiving the Player of the Match award that it was an intentional effort from his side as he was trying to increase the strike rate and hence he opted to take more risks. He added that he is not afraid of changes and nor is he scared of getting out. 

Delhi Capitals might have won the match but that does not diminish the efforts made by Punjab kings. Mayank Agarwal was explosive on the crease as he partnered with captain KL Rahul for a 122-run partnership to hit the scoreboard with 195 for in 20 overs.