Veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan will have a big role to play when he opens the batting for Delhi Capitals in their IPL 2021 season opener against MS Dhoni and his Chennai Super Kings. Dhawan was in top form last season and finished IPL 2020 as the second highest-run getter. In the process he also became the first batsman in the history of the tournament to hit centuries in consecutive matches.
Dhawan might not have a very high strike-rate but he is a confident opener who often lays a strong foundation for his team. While hitting sixes is not his forte, Dhawan is as good as a machine when it comes to finding gaps and hitting boundaries.
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Not many would know that he holds the record for hitting the most boundaries (4s) in IPL. The southpaw has hit 591 boundaries and is miles ahead of the competition as second placed David Warner has hit 510 fours.
When he gets on to the field on Saturday, Dhawan will be looking to become the first batsman to hit 600 fours in IPL. He needs just 9 boundaries to do that and Delhi Capitals would hope their seasoned opener does the job.
{{/usCountry}}When he gets on to the field on Saturday, Dhawan will be looking to become the first batsman to hit 600 fours in IPL. He needs just 9 boundaries to do that and Delhi Capitals would hope their seasoned opener does the job.
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DC are without regular captain Shreyas Iyer this season and this means Dhawan will have to take more responsibility as a senior pro with the young Rishabh Pant already burdened with captaincy.
Dhawan could end up opening the innings with new recruit Steve Smith and it would be a great site to see two established international batsmen come out and start a new partnership at the top of the order for the capitals.