SRH vs PBKS: Cricket fraternity hails 'Lone Warrior' Shikhar Dhawan for unbeaten 99 off 66

Shikhar Dhawan became talk of the town for the cricketing world on Sunday evening by striking a sensational 99-run unbeaten knock in 66 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Playing on his former team’s home soil, the PBKS skipper batted for the whole 20 overs and made sure his team play their full quota of overs in the first innings of the SRH vs PBKS, IPL 2023 match. What made his knock more special was the fact that he scored almost 70% of the runs scored by the entire PBKS batting unit in the innings against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Batting first in the game, Punjab Kings were off to a disappointing start as Prabhsimran Singh was dismissed lbw by Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the first delivery of the match. The visitors then lost Matthew Short on 1 run off 3 balls, before Jitesh Sharma returned on 4 runs in 9 balls. Sam Curran and Dhawan then added 41 runs for the fourth wicket stand, as the all-rounder got out for 22 runs in 15 balls.

SRH vs PBKS: Shikhar Dhawan takes PBKS from 88/9 to 143/9

PBKS kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were soon reduced to 88/9 in 15 overs. While it initially looked like the team won’t be able to cross the 100-run mark, skipper Dhawan stepped up to the occasion and played one of his best knocks in the tournament so far. 

The 37-year-old first hit T Natarajan for a six in the fourth ball of the 16th over to complete his half-century in 42 balls. He then smashed another six in the very next ball to make Punjab reach the 100-run mark. In the next over, Shikhar hit a four to Bhuvneshwar Kumar before taking a single. 

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Umran Malik provided a chance to get the PBKS captain out in the second ball of the 18th over, but it ended up being a six. After getting dropped again in the penultimate over, Dhawan hit two fours and took a single to cross the 90-run individual mark. He then took a double in the second ball of the 20th over, before finishing things off with another maximum.

IPL 2023, SRH vs PBKS: Cricket fraternity reacts to Shikhar Dhawan's 99-run knock

In a game dominated by the @SunRisers bowlers, @SDhawan25 is playing a lovely innings

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 9, 2023

A true captains knock by @SDhawan25 truly leading from the front and playing some 'Dhaw-some' cricket! 🏏🌟#ShikharDhawan #SRHvsPBKS #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/sabtCFjWx5

— Jhulan Goswami (@JhulanG10) April 9, 2023

A captain-tivating performance by @SDhawan25 🏏💯#ShikharDhawan #SRHvsPBKS #RPSwing pic.twitter.com/kAH6XrY8aW

— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) April 9, 2023

99* out of #PBKS 143. Unbelievable effort by Shikhar Dhawan. What an incredible day for left-handed batters in today’s #TataIPL
Rinku, Nitish, Iyer, Sai Sudarshan, Shikhi boy.

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) April 9, 2023

IPL 2023, SRH vs PBKS: Fans react to Shikhar Dhawan's 'One Many Army' knock

Shikhar Dhawan - the lone warrior!

99* (66) with 12 fours and 5 sixes. The whole PBKS unit struggled, but the captain stood up and performed exceptionally well. Missed out on a century here! pic.twitter.com/U1bztz6zcx

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) April 9, 2023

I don’t care if he plays the world cup or not. But as a cricketer fan I want to see this man be given a beautiful farewell .

LEGEND SHIKHAR DHAWAN 🦁❤️ pic.twitter.com/aZzkInxHD1

— 🇻🇳 (@blitzkrieg71_) April 9, 2023

- No Allegation
- No PR
- No Rift
- No Scandal
- No Addiction

Just consistent performances and billion fans around the world ❤

That's Shikhar Dhawan for you 🛐 pic.twitter.com/4BPpUgZsLV

— Utsav 💔 (@utsav045) April 9, 2023

You see Shikhar Dhawan. I SEE A LION IN THE JUNGLE 99* Notout 🥵🥵🔥🔥🔥🔥#PBKSvSRH pic.twitter.com/XS3jbLtGVl

— Vɪᴊᴀʏ (@iam_vijay6676) April 9, 2023