One of the best T20 innings by Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan (99* off 66) ended in vain as Sunrisers Hyderabad registered their their first victory in the ongoing 16th edition of the Indian Premier League, against the Punjab Kings tonight, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
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En route the target of 144 runs, SRH were not off to an ideal start and were struggling a tad to get on with their innings, with the scorecard reading 43/1 after 8 Overs.
However, they had the much-required cushion of wickets-in-hand, and used them to their advantage. After losing Mayank Agarwal (21 off 20) during the ninth Over, the pair of Rahul Tripathi (74* off 48) and skipper Aiden Markram (37 off 21) then shouldered the responsibility to take their side over the line.
Tripathi in particular, played a stellar knock and was the aggressor-in-chief during the SRH chase tonight, with his knock comprising of 10 Fours and 3 Sixes. Markram, on the other hand, rightly played the second fiddle, but still managed to strike at 176.19, in his innings which comprised of six Fours.
The duo in fact, registered a century-run stand for the third wicket, as SRH got off-the-mark with an eight-wicket victory, with 17 balls to spare in the innings.
SRH vs PBKS Man of the Match IPL 2023
Earlier, after being reduced to 88/9 at the end of 15 Overs, Punjab Kings’ innings was revived by their skipper, who made sure he batted throughout the innings alongside the No.11 batter in Mohit Rathee (1* off 2).
Dhawan stitched together a 55-run stand alongside Rathee for the 10th wicket off the last five Overs, which also happens to be the highest last wicket partnership in IPL history.
Despite ending up on the losing side, Shikhar Dhawan was fittingly awarded with the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his scintillating innings of 99* off 66 deliveries.
“I am grateful for the 99 and I am very happy. I was playing according to the situation and kept scoring boundaries when it was needed,” remarked Dhawan post winning the award.
