IPL 2021: Mohammad Kaif heaps praises on Shikhar Dhawan, calls him 'superstar'

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif, who is the current assistant coach of the Delhi Capitals (DC) franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL), has heaped praises on opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan. Calling him "superstar" of the IPL, Kaif noted that Shikhar Dhawan is a "rare batsman" who looks solid even while playing fearless cricket. Kaif said that it the hallmark of a great T20 batsman to cut risks without compromising the strike rate. Dhawan scored a swashbuckling 92 off 49 balls against Punjab Kings the other night with a strike rate of 187.76. Dhawan's masterclass innings included 13 boundaries and 2 maximums. 

After the match on Sunday, Dhawan said that he has improved his batting a lot as he plays more freely now and isn't scared of getting out. The 35-year-old said that he has improved his strike rate as well and has added a couple of shots to his style of batting, including the slog shot. The left-handed batsman has 186 runs from the three games that he has played in IPL 2021. Dhawan has an average of 62.00 and a strike rate of 163.15 so far in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League. Dhawan is also the Orange Cap holder at the moment, which is awarded to the top run-scorer in the tournament.  

Delhi vs Punjab

Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals won its second game of IPL 2021 against Punjab Kings by 6 wickets with 10 balls to spare. After Punjab posted a mammoth total of 195 runs, Delhi batsmen chased it down in just 18.2 overs with the help of Dhawan's 92. 

After Delhi Capitals won the toss, skipper Rishabh Pant invited the Men in Red to bat first. Punjab Kings openers KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal forged an important partnership of 122 runs before the latter was dismissed by Lukman Mariwala. Punjab's explosive batsman Chris Gayle failed to score runs as he was dismissed for just 11 by Chris Woakes. Deepak Hooda and Shahrukh Khan finished the inning for Punjab scoring 22 and 15 runs respectively. When DC openers came to bat, they started hitting from the word go. Prithvi Shaw scored 32 off 17 balls, while Shikhar Dhawan smashed 92 off just 49 balls before getting out. Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis finished the game for Delhi as he remained unbeaten at 13-ball 27 runs. 

(Image Credit: BCCI/IPL)