IPL 2022: Our conscious effort was not to lose too many wickets – Shikhar Dhawan

Punjab Kings veteran opening batter Shikhar Dhawan has revealed that the idea was not to lose too many wickets against Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Monday. Dhawan took his time in the early phase of his innings and then changed gears towards the end.

The southpaw timed the ball to perfection on a two-paced pitch and batted at the top of his game. Dhawan scored a fine knock of 88 runs off just 59 balls to help his team post 187 runs on the board after Ravindra Jadeja chose to bowl first. The experienced left-hander added 110 runs with Bhanuka Rajapaksha to lay down the foundation of a big score.

Meanwhile, Dhawan also became the second batter in the IPL history to score 6000 runs after Virat Kohli. Furthermore, Dhawan’s also surpassed Rohit Sharma’s record of most runs against a single opposition. Sharma has amassed 1018 runs against KKR whereas Dhawan has now mustered 1029 runs against CSK.

On the other hand, being a senior player in the team, Dhawan tries to give his input to the youngsters as well as captain, Mayank Agarwal.

Dhawan was awarded the Player of the Match after PBKS won by 11 runs against CSK. The veteran said in the post-match presentation, “The process, I always talk about it, I focus on it. About my fitness, my approach – I keep working on those skills. Results will take care of themselves. The wicket was stopping a bit, I tried to go for the big shots, but I couldn’t connect. But I kept my calm. Once I get set, I can get those boundaries, that’s what I bank on. While batting first it’s about putting pressure on the bowlers and getting boundaries. We don’t have to lose too many wickets, that was our conscious effort. I have become a senior in the team (laughs), I give a lot of input to the players and my captain, on the field. The youngsters think a lot, sometimes they overthink, so I try to communicate with them. I talk about the law of attraction and how to achieve big in life.”

Meanwhile, Kagiso Rabada also bowled a crucial spell of 2-23 and took the important wicket of Ambati Rayudu. Rabada showered praise on the collective effort of the team and lauded Dhawan and Rajapaksha for setting up a par score against CSK.

Rabada said after the game, “In the powerplay, we were behind the rate. Must tell you, Shikhar and Mayank, the way they held their nerve and then Shikhar and Bhanuka the way they set it up was unbelievable. Livingstone the way he played some gentle strokes out of the park, that set us up nicely and we got a winning total. Each and every individual in our bowling lineup put his hand up. Arsh (Arshdeep) has been the best death bowler in the camp, that’s what the stats say. He has got a lot of talent, drive, and ambition. And he is just a good bloke. So nice to have him around. I know I am going to bowl at the death. Arsh has been magnificent. He has been leading the way in that discipline. Everyone else knows their roles. Rahul is a key spinner for us. Sandeep has the experience and got us a key wicket in the powerplay. Rishi put his hand up in the final over.”

The Mayank Agarwal-led team will next face Lucknow Super Giants at the MCA, Pune on Friday.