Shikhar Dhawan goes past 400 runs in IPL 2021 to equal David Warner and Suresh Raina's record

Delhi Capitals (DC) opener Shikhar Dhawan is now the third batsman in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL), to score more than 400 runs in six consecutive editions of the tournament. Shikhar achieved this unique distinction in the IPL 2021 league encounter against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Wednesday. The opener reached the milestone in the final over of the powerplay, with the Delhi-based franchise handed a chase of 135 runs. Shikhar is the third player after David Warner and Suresh Raina to achieve this unique milestone, showcasing the capabilities he enjoys at the age of 35.

“My motive is to make an impact”

The 35-year-old sounded eager to showcase intent, before the match began indicating a desire to make an impact.

“We have to start from scratch, because of the break. All that momentum, we’ll have to build that again. But we are confident about doing that. I have worked on my strike rate, it has been a conscious effort from my side. My strike rate was around 130-odd before, but it has increased to 145-odd now. My motive is to make an impact. It’s not necessary to take unwanted risks, and as experienced player I need to calm the other young players down while we are batting out in the middle,” said Dhawan as quoted by Cricbuzz.

South African pacers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje delivered a fantastic performance to help DC restrict SRH to a score of 134/9. Rabada and Nortje accounted for three and two wickets respectively, in the clash which marked the maiden game of both teams in the second half of IPL 2021. The former accounted for the dismissals of Wriddhiman Saha, Manish Pandey and Abdul Samad. Nortje sent David Warner and Kedar Jadhav back to the pavilion, delivering a splendid performance with just 12 runs conceded.

“Hard lengths were working for us and nice to stick to that plan”

“It was good, nice to be out here in Dubai. Hard lengths were working for us and nice to stick to that plan. Personally I was feeling very good, bit of different conditions there(in Sri Lanka) played a couple of games and it didn’t feel too bad. I don’t try to think about it (pace), just try and keep it simple. Done a lot of work over the years and the key is to quickly identify what’s working for me on the day, it’s been the major change over the last few years. The new ball might be a little different at night, its not the easiest of wickets if you bowl good lengths, just try and take advantage of the bad balls. The key thing is to not go chasing for boundaries,” said Nortje as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Samad was the top run-getter with 28 runs off 21 deliveries in an innings comprising of two boundaries and a six. Rashid Khan was the second highest run-scorer with just 22 runs, showcasing the dominance of the DC bowlers. Axar Patel was another vital contributor who helped break the backbone of the SRH batting department, dismissing Kane Williamson and Jason Holder.