The Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals (DC) were at their best with both bat and ball as they restricted Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for a paltry 134 in 20 overs and chased it down comfortably as they registered an 8-wicket win in their UAE-leg opener of IPL 2021.
DC opener Shikhar Dhawan continued from where he left off in the first leg of the tournament earlier this year as he scored an important 42 (37) along with Shreyas Iyer (47 off 41) after losing Prithvi Shaw early.
With yet another classy knock under his belt, the southpaw also went on to regain the Orange Cap for the most runs scored in a season. During his innings against SRH, Dhawan also went past the 400-run mark, becoming only the 3rd batter after Suresh Raina and David Warner to do so in at least 6 successive seasons.
“I'm enjoying wearing the cap, I'm enjoying the way I'm timing the ball. Not very true, this surface, it stopped a bit, and we had to plan the game according to the wicket. So it was good to go out there and secure a win,” the 35-year-old said.
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Even though the left-hander missed out on a spot in the Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman, he has been one of the most consistent batters in the IPL of late.
As Dhawan’s scoring rate was under the scanner in recent times, the 35-year-old revealed that he made a conscious effort to get that going upwards.
“I consciously made an effort to increase the tempo and strike-rate, because I wanted to be an impactful player for my side. It was just about the execution. Rabada and Nortje are our gun bowlers. Absolutely enjoying being at the top of the table,” the Delhi-based cricketer concluded.
With this thumping win over SRH by 8 wickets with 13 balls to spare, the Rishabh Pant and Co. get past Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and take the top spot on the points table with 14 points to their name.
After SRH, the Delhi-based franchise will be taking on Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Saturday (25 September) at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
(With India Today Inputs)
