KKR vs PBKS: Shikhar Dhawan registers 50th half-century of his IPL career

Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shikhar Dhawan recorded his 50^th IPL fifty during the clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The two franchises squared off at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday, May 8, in match 53 of the ongoing IPL 2023.

Upon winning the toss, PBKS skipper Dhawan elected to bat first. However, what followed was the Knight Riders getting the breakthroughs at regular intervals to leave Punjab reeling. Despite this, Dhawan continued to steer the side by keeping the scoreboard ticking with his steady knock.

The seasoned southpaw played a couple of exquisite shots from his arsenal which included the sweeps and reverse sweeps. In addition to this, he also raised a vital stand with Jitesh Sharma as the pair added 53 runs for the fourth wicket. 

Dhawan notched up his half-century off 41 balls which included nine fours and one six. In doing so, the southpaw attained an impressive milestone as he claimed the 50^th fifty of his IPL career.

However, his innings drew to a conclusion as his counterpart, Nitish Rana bowled a fullish length ball upon which the former miscued it to get caught by Vaibhav Arora at long-on. The 37-year-old is relishing a fabulous season as he has collected 349 runs with a brilliant average of 58.17 in eight outings thus far with his season-best of an unbeaten 99.  

PBKS eye play-off berth as they lock horns with KKR in crucial encounter

Speaking about their campaign in the ongoing season, Punjab have won five matches and lost as many in their 10 outings in the group phase. With a dismal Net Run Rate (NRR) of -0.472, Punjab are placed seventh in the IPL Points Table. 

Punjab will be gunning to complete a double over KKR as they beat the latter in the first meeting of the season in a rain-curtailed affair. In addition to this, with the matches coming thick and fast, Punjab will need to win their remaining games to secure a berth in the playoffs of the top-tier league.