Shikhar Dhawan smashed a match-winning 92 off 49 balls in opposition to Punjab Kings on Sunday (April 18) and the southpaw mentioned he made a conscious effort to improve his strike-rate through the knock. Dhawan, who smashed back-to-back tons of within the IPL final season, is not any extra a certainty in India’s T20 taking part in XI and is competing for a gap slot alongside Rohit Sharma for the World Cup later this yr.
“It was a conscious effort from my side. I knew I have to improve on that (strike-rate). Started taking more risks. Not afraid of changes, always open towards it. Not scared of getting out as well,” mentioned Dhawan, who batted at a strike charge of 187.86, after the six-wicket win over Punjab Kings.
The left-hander mentioned he has additionally been engaged on his stroke play. “I have worked on a few shots. My slog shot has improved a lot. It was there earlier as well, but now I play it more freely. I’m more relaxed, having played for so many years. I don’t take things for granted.”
Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant mentioned he has began to get pleasure from captaincy. “Coming from a loss, successful the following match was essential. Have already began having fun with captaincy. But we had been below stress firstly, the wicket was not doing a lot.
“Bowlers did a good job keeping them to 195. He (Dhawan) has a lot of experience. You can to talk to him about anything, how we can set the field, there are many stuff you can talk about. End of the day, what he’s giving to the team is commendable,” Pant mentioned.
Punjab skipper KL Rahul, who turned 29 on Sunday, mentioned they put up an honest complete however defending at Wankhede is at all times powerful. “Right now it appears 10-15 runs brief, however I believe 190-odd regarded good. Me and Mayank thought 180-190 would have been nice on this wicket. Shikhar batted effectively, so congratulations to them.
“When we come to Wankhede, bowling second is always a challenge. We prepare for such conditions. It does get difficult against these quality batters. I’m not saying that because I’m on the losing side,” he mentioned.
“Bowlers try to bowl with the wet ball, but it’s always difficult to do that. I asked the umpires to change the ball a couple of times (as it was wet), but the rule book doesn’t allow that,” Rahul mentioned.
(with PTI inputs)
