Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan. Image Credits:Twitter

Former South African star batter, AB de Villiers has applauded Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper, Shikhar Dhawan for his unbeaten 86 runs knock against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, While PBKS beat RR by 5 runs in the last match, Dhawan innings took his side to 197/4 in 20 overs.

In his blasting stint for PBKS in the last match, he even reverse-swept RR speedster, Jason Holder for a six, de Villers said after the game that he has not seen the veteran southpaw batter play like that.

Shikhar Dhawan reverse sweep vs RR
Shikhar Dhawan reverse sweep vs RR. Image Credits: Twitter

AB de Villers thinks Shikhar Dhawan will score big runs in IPL 2023-

“He is an incredible player. To get that inning together for the team. Let’s not forget about his partner up front. He took a bit of pressure off Shikhar so that he could play his own game, manipulate the ball and took his game really, until he found a sniff,” said the Ex- RCB player after the match in JIO Cinema.

In his innings the 37-year-old effortlessly switched gears as he was 30 off 30 balls at one point while playing second fiddle to Prabhsimran Singh,  Punjab’s opener, Dhawan and Prabhsimran together added 90 runs in the first 10 overs, Dhawan upped the ante after his opening partner was dismissed, scoring 56 off the next 26 balls he faced, in his innings, the PBKS skipper smashed three sixes and nine fours.

“To be honest, I haven’t seen him play like that,”

“It started when the spinners came on in the middle-overs. The spinners took a pounding tonight. Look at him moving around, I have never seen him playing like this. It is refreshing and I think he has got a lot of runs in him this season,” he further added.

Coming to the game, Sanju Samson-led side won the toss and opted to field first, Shikhar Dhawan-led PBKS batted first and posted 197/4 in 20 overs, Punjab’s opener, Dhawan and Prabhsimran Singh stitched together90 runs in the first 10 overs, while veteran left-handed batter remained unbeaten on 86 runs to take his side to a comfortable target. Ashwin picked one wicket by conceding 25 runs in his four overs.

In the chase, their star overseas player Buttler was dismissed for 19 runs, while the RR skipper scored the highest 42 runs for his side, along with key contributions from Shimron Hetymer and Dhruv Jurel. Subsequently, in the end, they were short of the target and managed 192/7 in 20 overs. Nathan Ellis was awarded player of the match; he picked four wickets for the Punjab-based side.

Now after back to back win in IPL 2023, PBKS will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their next game on April 9 at Hyderabad.