IPL 2018: Well Played Rishabh Pant, It Was a Wonderful Knock - Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan roared back to his devastating best just when his team needed him the most. On Thursday (May 10), the southpaw scored an unbeaten 92 – to guide Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to a convincing nine-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils (DD) at Feroz Shah Kotla on Thursday (May 10).

Chasing an interesting total of 188, the visitors were off to a poor start as their opener Alex Hales departed after scoring just 14.

However, Dhawan along with skipper Kane Williamson helped Sunrisers to recover from the dismal start and laid the foundation for a brilliant chase.

At the end of the powerplay, the scoreboard read 51 for one. They continued to make merry with the bat as Sunrisers raced away to 91 at the halfway stage.

Dhawan was the aggressor during the stand while Williamson played the role of the second fiddle to perfection.

The Indian batting star reached his fifty off just 29 balls while Williamson took 38 balls to reach the half-century. With both the batsmen going strong, the visitors breached the 150-run mark in just the 15th over.

Quick Read: IPL 2018: We Need To Get Ajinkya Rahane Out Early: Stephen Fleming

From thereon, it was just a formality as the Sunrisers required just 36 runs off the final five overs. Sunrisers eventually reached the target in the 19th over. Dhawan remained unbeaten on 92 while Williamson remained unbeaten on 80. The duo added a record 176 runs for the second-wicket.

It was Sunrisers’ ninth win in 11 games and they eventually sealed their playoff spot.

Soon after the victory, Dhawan took to micro-blogging website Twitter to express his delight. He also praised Rishabh Pant, who scored his maiden IPL ton in the game which eventually went in vain.

“It was a good outing today with this guy. Well played @RishabPant777. It was a wonderful knock,”  tweeted Shikhar Dhawan.

It was a good outing today with this guy. Well played @RishabPant777. It was a wonderful knock #orangearmy #anotherwin pic.twitter.com/yvbfC8MOYL

— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) May 10, 2018

Delhi were looking set to post a below-par total after being reduced to 98 for four. However, Pant scored an unbeaten 128 off just 63 balls – to help his side collect 138 runs off the last 10 overs and finish on 187 for five.

The left-handed batsman struck 15 fours and seven sixes during his amazing knock.

Also, Read: IPL 2018: We Need To Get Ajinkya Rahane Out Early: Stephen Fleming