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Cricket PlayersBrian Lara's eye-opener for Team India after Shikhar Dhawan races to top of IPL 2023 Orange Cap list
SRH head coach Brian Lara hailed PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan, who raced to the top of IPL 2023 Orange Cap race. Lara also had a message for the India star.
Having won their opening two fixtures in IPL 2023, Punjab Kings were given a reality check in Match 14, crashing to a defeat vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, on Sunday. Chasing a target of 144 runs, SRH eased to 145/2 in 17.1 overs, courtesy of some fine batting from Rahul Tripathi and Aiden Markram. Tripathi slammed an unbeaten knock of 74 runs off 48 balls. Meanwhile, captain Markram smacked 37 runs off 21 deliveries, and remained unbeaten.
Initially, PBKS posted 143/9 in 20 overs, with Mayank Markande bagging a four-wicket haul for SRH, and Marco Jansen, Umran Malik bagging two dismissals each. PBKS had a massive batting collapse, with only two batters crossing ten runs respectively. Three batters were dismissed for ducks, including opener Prabhsimran Singh, who was sent packing for a golden duck. Captain Shikhar Dhawan was the only shining beacon for the batting order, playing the anchor role from his opening slot.
The India international smacked an unbeaten knock of 99 runs off 66 balls, missing out narrowly on a century. The veteran also clobbered 12 fours and five sixes in an innings, without much support from his partners, who departed in quick succession. The unbeaten also saw Dhawan take the lead in the Orange Cap race with 225 runs in three matches, ahead of second-placed Ruturaj Gaikwad. The CSK opener has registered 189 runs in three matches.
Speaking after the match, SRH head coach Brian Lare hailed Dhawan for his knock and called it one of the best he had ever seen in T20 cricket. In a conversation with the broadcasters, Lara said, “I must commend Shikhar Dhawan, I think this was one of the best innings I have ever seen in T20 cricket. You have to respect how he farmed the strike and controlled the game and scored 99 off such a small total.”
Lara also revealed that Dhawan kept him on the edge of his seat and could have taken the game away from SRH. "Some times I got the feeling that he would wrestle the momentum away from us. But this looked like a good track from the 3rd, 4th over, there was not much swing. We just had to bat normal and gather some runs. There were some shaky moments in the beginning, but I was very positive", he said.
Lara's statement on Dhawan will add to the selectors' dilemma ahead of Team India's 50-over World Cup campaign. The opener has found it hard to break into the playing XI due to the emergence of Shubman Gill, but will be hoping to use the IPL to prove his worth. Punjab will be aiming to bounce back from this defeat and get back to winning ways in their next fixture. They are scheduled to face defending champions Gujarat Titans on Thursday, in Mohali.
