Shikhar Dhawan has no regrets on missing out on ton, says team win was important

Shikhar Dhawan displayed his mettle by blasting an unbeaten 97*, his highest score in Twenty20s as he helped Delhi Capitals win by seven wickets against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Friday. Dhawan’s knock and his 105-run stand with Rishabh Pant (46) helped Delhi Capitals surge to the fourth position in the points table. Dhawan had a golden chance to score his maiden ton but Colin Ingram smashed a six and that meant the left-hander was just three runs short of the landmark. Speaking in the post-match presentation, Dhawan did not rue the fact that he missed out on a century and stressed the team victory was far more important.

“I knew it could be my first T20 hundred but the team goal is more important, hence I took that single rather than taking a huge risk. It's totally opposite here compared to Delhi,” Dhawan said. The left-hander’s partnership with Pant was the key in Delhi Capitals registering a win against a Kolkata Knight Riders side who had dominated at home and also against other opponents in IPL 2019. Pant spoke about the plan with Dhawan as to how they wanted to approach the target.

“Take the game deep and complete the game as soon as possible. In T20, when you are chasing, you need to control and pace your innings in such a way that you could complete the match in 18-20 overs. I don't focus on what the bowlers are thinking. I just focus on my stuff. We (him and Dhawan) were just talking about taking the match deep,” Pant said.

Dhawan said the pitch at the Eden Gardens was different as compared to the Feroz Shah Kotla, which drew flak from head coach Ricky Ponting. “It's totally opposite here compared to Delhi. I was telling Dinesh (Karthik) the same thing. It's a good wicket to bat on. Good for the bowlers as well as the batsmen, makes it interesting. In Delhi we have to adapt ourselves, hence we got to have that skill. I really enjoyed in the first six overs but I knew I had to stay till the end. I was getting the right thoughts and I had to take the game deep. Rishabh is such a big hitter he can always hit it out of the park,” Dhawan said.

Delhi Capitals will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium in Hyderabad while Kolkata Knight Riders will take on table-toppers Chennai Super Kings at the Eden Gardens.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Delhi Capitals registered their second win against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2019.
• Shikhar Dhawan's 97* is his highest individual score in Twenty20s.
• Delhi Capitals are in the fourth position in IPL 2019.