Back to back centuries for Delhi Capitals (DC) opener Shikhar Dhawan as he races to the second spot in the leading run-getters tally. The southpaw struck an unbeaten 106 off 61 deliveries that comprised 12 fours and 3 sixes to help the Capitals post 164 runs against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in Dubai.
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The 34-year-old Delhi-born has amassed 465 runs in 10 matches, averaging 66.42 and striking at over 140. He’s the only cricketer to have racked consecutive tons in the mega-T20 tournament and is now one of the top contenders for the orange cap by the end of IPL 2020 underway in UAE.
Meanwhile, Dhawan managed to get past the 5000 run-mark in the history of IPL and only the fourth batsman to date to have achieved the milestone.
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Opting to bat first, Delhi Capitals lost the early wicket of Prithvi Shaw (7) in the fourth over to James Neesham’s delivery. Dhawan, along with Skipper Shreyas Iyer (14), then added 48 runs to the second-wicket but the partnership couldn’t fructify as Murugan Ashwin tempted Iyer to play a shot down the leg side only to get caught by wicket-keeper KL Rahul.
Rishabh Pant (14, 20b) and Marcus Stoinis (9, 10b) couldn’t render much damage but rotated the strike back to Dhawan who kept on picking boundaries at regular intervals. Lastly, it was Shimron Hetmyer who scored 10 off 6 deliveries courtesy of a sole boundary and aided DC to 164 runs in 20 overs.
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In the end, KXIP bowlers did a brilliant job as inspite of a Dhawan-ton, the KL Rahul-led side managed to restrict Delhi Capitals to under 170 runs. Mohammed Shami (2/28) was the standout bowler as he grabbed the wickets of Marcus Stoinis and Shimron Hetmyer. Also, he is now the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2020 with 16 scalpings in 10 outings at an average of 20.37.
James Neesham (1/17) got the wood on Prithvi Shaw while left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh couldn’t affect any dismissal.
In the spin department, leggies Glenn Maxwell and Murugan Ashwin bagged a wicket each but conceded over 30 runs. Ravi Bishnoi bowled decently and ended with figures of 0/24 in 3 overs.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Shikhar Dhawan’s masterclass in Dubai –
Also read – We weren’t up to the mark: DC skipper Shreyas Iyer on 5-wicket loss to KXIP
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