Former India hitter Sanjay Manjrekar hasn’t seen many hitters as tough as Delhi Capitals starter Shikhar Dhawan. Manjrekar’s comments came after Dhawan’s fluid half-century played a crucial role in securing DC’s rights to play in their first IPL final against defending champions Mumbai Indians in Dubai on Tuesday.
“I’ve seen very few tougher hitters than Shikhar Dhawan,” Manjrekar tweeted.
Dhawan, who is currently the second biggest rider at IPL 2020 behind only KXIP captain KL Rahul, scored a 78 of 50 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Qualifier 2. Dhawan and Stoinis (38) gave Delhi a good start and after of that Shimron Hetmyer’s blitz (42 of 22) brought them to 189 of 3.
In response, Stoinis picked up 3-for-28 when DC restricted the SRH to 172-for-8 despite an elegant half-century from Kane Williamson.
Dhawan has so far scored 603 runs in 15 games with an average of 46.38 and a hit rate of 145.66. Dhawan also became the first player in IPL history to hit consecutive centuries.
“Shikhar has been incredible and won many hundreds. Even in the games he has missed, he has timed the ball well. He has really paved the way for us this year, ”Stoinis said at the post-match press conference.
Stoinis himself has benefited from Dhawan’s immense knowledge to adapt to various situations.
“He (Dhawan) is a leader within the team. He brings a lot of energy and shares a lot of knowledge. He has really been good to me during this campaign. I am very proud of him.
“He has done more than 600 races this year. Hopefully he has a big shot left in the final, ”said Stoinis.
Meanwhile, Manjrekar said the “pragmatic” decisions to send Stoinis to open and Hetmyer ahead of Pant worked for them.
“DC finally plays to his potential on the night that mattered. They got some very pragmatic calls and found immediate results like Stoinis and Hetmyer opening before Pant, ”he said.
The former Indian batsman said IMs are favorites to win the title but added that DC will have their tail up.
“E … but DC is dangerous now, with Stoinis starting, Dhawan Hetmyer and Rabada tail up.”
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