'Sometimes batsmen take the good form for granted, but he does not' - Sunil Gavaskar lauds Shikhar Dhawan's consistency

Continuing his brilliant form in the Indian Premier League, Delhi Capitals’ opener Shikhar Dhawan scored another unbeaten half-century (67 off 49) and stayed till the end to take his side to a seven-wicket win when his team squared off with Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Sunday (2nd May 2021).

Given the tournament has crossed the halfway mark, each team has played each other at least once. DC’s meet with PBKS yesterday was their second encounter against each other. Notably, when they first met, it was Shikhar Dhawan’s 92 that stood tall and guided his side to a convincing 6-wicket win in pursuit of 196.

The story remained the same this time around as well as chasing 167, the Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw (39) provided a brisk stand of 67 from just 38 balls before the former added a 48-run second-stand with Steve Smith (24). Dhawan. After Shaw’s exit, the scoring dropped down momentarily and the boundaries dried up, but Dhawan hung till the end and accelerated later closer to finish proceedings alongside Shimron Heymyer, with 16 balls to spare and take his side to the top of the table.

Sunil Gavaskar praises Dhawan

Dhawan also gained the Orange Cap, surpassing KL Rahul, who missed the last game after being hospitalized due to a medical condition. Meanwhile, Sunil Gavaskar, impressed with Dhawan’s approach, lauded the left-hander for his consistency and scoring habits. Speaking to Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “He has been in a tremendous right from the start of the season. He is carrying his form and he is not taking it easy at all. Sometimes, batsmen tend to take the good form for granted, get into bad habits. But he hasn’t got into any.”

He further opined, “Look at some of his shots. These are the shot which has always got runs. He hasn’t tried to do anything different. These are the shots that he plays in all forms of the games, in the longer formats as well. And they are paying for him and he is looking like a million bucks.

It’s so important. At the end of the day, a lot of times a set batsman gets out on the 15th or the 16th over and a new batsman has to come in and he doesn’t find it easy. The asking rate might be pretty much run-a-ball at that stage but even a new batsman coming in can find it difficult. So, if you are well set and you want to go and finish it. And that’s what Shikhar Dhawan did,” Gavaskar added.