Shikhar Dhawan achieved a new milestone with his fifty against KKR
Dhawan registered his 50th half-century in IPL. He is now the second Indian batsman after Virat Kohli to score 50 fifties
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 5 wickets in a thrilling match played at Eden Gardens on Monday. Although Punjab Kings lost their second match in a row, the fans got positive takeaway from captain Shikhar Dhawan’s brilliant knock of 57 runs.
The southpaw looked in great touch, scoring a brilliant half-century. In the process, Dhawan registered his 50th IPL fifty. He is now the second Indian batsman after Virat Kohli to score 50 fifties. Only David Warner is above the Indian pair in terms of number of fifties in IPL. Warner has the most fifties in the tournament’s history – 57.
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Significantly, Shikhar Dhawan has also scored two brilliant centuries in IPL. Overall, the talismanic opener has scored 6,593 runs at an average of 35.93 and a strike rate of 127.16.
So far in the current season, the Punjab captain has managed to score 349 runs at an average of 58.16 and a strike rate of 143.62.
But Dhawan has not been able to lift his team with his performance and Punjab are currently at the seventh position in the points table.
In the match, Dhawan’s knock and late cameos by Shah Rukh Khan and Harpreet Brar guided Punjab Kings to a competitive total of 179 against Kolkata Knight Riders. However, Punjab’s total was not enough as Kolkata skipper Nitish Rana got his team together with a fiery half-century. Amazing cameos from Andre Russell and Rinku Singh sealed Kolkata’s victory.
Punjab bowlers have struggled to defend totals in IPL 2023. The same happened against Kolkata as the bowlers squandered a lot of runs at the Eden Gardens.
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Punjab have not been able to perform as a team on a consistent basis and are now stuck in a mid-table stalemate. The 2014 finalists are now on 10 points from 11 matches and will need to win all their remaining league matches to progress to the playoffs.
Five teams are currently tied on total points. Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians will face each other on Tuesday. The winner of this game will jump to the third position in the table.
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