IPL 2019: Team Goal is more Important than Personal Records – Shikhar Dhawan
Apr 13, 2019 at 12:57 AM
Shikhar Dhawan played a magical knock and combined well with Rishabh Pant to hand Delhi Capitals their fourth victory of the season. Chasing 179 runs set by Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi sailed home with seven balls to spare and seven wickets in hand.
Batting first, Kolkata Knight Riders posted 178 runs on the board after a late resurgence from Andre Russell. Shubman Gill and Robin Uthappa provided a good platform after losing debutant Joe Denly in the first ball of the match. The young Gill looked in superb touch smacking the world-class bowlers to the boundary. But a flurry of wickets in the middle overs halted the free flow of runs. However, Andre Russell once again came to the rescue smashing a 21-ball 45 to help them post a good total on the board after a good comeback by the Delhi Capitals bowlers.
Chasing a massive target, Shikhar Dhawan stormed back to form ahead of the World Cup to take his side home. He combined well with Rishabh Pant who played a matured innings to make it two out of two against Kolkata Knight Riders this season. Although Pant got out on the verge of winning, Dhawan (97*) and Colin Ingram (14*) ensured no more hiccups on the way.
Personal record is not important: Dhawan
Speaking after his player of the match knock, Shikhar Dhawan who missed his century by three runs, said that personal milestone doesn’t matter to him. Instead, he seemed more concerned about the goal of the team.
“I knew it could be my first T20 hundred but the team goal is more important, hence I took that single rather than taking a huge risk,” Karthik said after the match.
In addition, Shikhar Dhawan added that the wicket is completely different from that of their home ground at Feroz Shah Kotla. He also said that he enjoyed batting at the Eden Gardens and always had the thing of batting till the end in his mind. In conclusion, Dhawan also praised Rishabh Pant who played an innings of mettle.
“It’s totally opposite here compared to Delhi. I was telling Dinesh the same thing. It’s a good wicket to bat on. Good for the bowlers as well as the batsmen, makes it interesting. In Delhi, we have to adapt ourselves. Hence we got to have that skill. I really enjoyed in the first six overs, but I knew I had to stay till the last. I was getting the right thoughts, and I had to take the game deep. Rishabh is such a big hitter; he can always hit it out of the park,” he concluded.