Shikhar Dhawan continued his decent form in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) in the match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Wednesday (April 5) to equal Virat Kohli's sensational record in the glitzy league.
In the match against RR, Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Dhawan hammered a blistering 86 off 56 to become only the second batter besides Kohli to notch up most fifty-plus scores in the history of IPL. Dhawan completed his half-century of 50-plus scores in the glitzy league at the Baraspara Stadium. It was Dhawan's 48th fifty of IPL which helped PBKS score a big total of 197/4.
Most fifty-plus scores in IPL
David Warner- 60
Shikhar Dhawan- 50
Virat Kohli- 50
AB De Villiers- 43
Rohit Sharma- 41
Most 50+ scores in IPL (Indians)
50 - Shikhar Dhawan*
50 - Virat Kohli
41 - Rohit Sharma
40 - Suresh Raina
36 - Gautam Gambhir
35 - KL Rahul
Dhawan's onslaught was decorated with nine boundaries and three maximums which came after another fifty from PBKS opener Prabhsimran Singh, who belted 60 off 34 balls riding on seven fours and three maximums.
Follow the RR vs PBKS match's live scores here
Not just this Dhawan shattered Kohli's another record of stitching most 50-plus partnership in the glitzy league. Dhawan now have most number of 50-plus run partnerships in the tournament. Dhawan was involved in an 90-run opening stand Prabhsimran Singh and then a 50-plus stand with Jitesh Sharma for the third wicket to take his tally to 96 half-century stands in the T20 franchise tournament. Kohli comes second with 95 while Chennai Super Kings legend Suresh Raina comes in third on the list, having been part of 83 such stands, followed by David Warner at 82.
Dhawan also completed his 600 runs against RR.
Talking about the match, RR skipper Sanju Samson won the toss and invited PBKS to bat first in Guwahati on Wednesday. Shikhar Dhawan along with Prabhsimran Singh got Punjab off to an explosive start as the pair accumulated 63 runs in the powerplay overs. Prabhsimran went on to score a blistering 64 (34) before Jos Buttler completed a stunner to strike the first blow for Rajasthan. Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who joined the captain in the middle, left the ground shortly after being struck by a ball hit by Dhawan. The skipper then added another 50-plus stand with Jitesh Sharma, who was packed for 27(16) by Yuzvendra Chahal. Ashwin cleaned-up Sikandar Raja for 1(2).
RR will be chasing a daunting 198-run target as they will look to notch their second win of the IPL 2023.
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan(c), Prabhsimran Singh(w), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.
Subs: Rishi Dhawan, Atharva Taide, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Matthew Short, Mohit Rathee
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Devdutt Padikkal, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, KM Asif, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Subs: Dhruv Jurel, Akash Vasisht, Murugan Ashwin, Kuldip Yadav, Donavon Ferreira
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