IPL 2022: Irfan Pathan lauds Shikhar Dhawan's match-winning knock for PBKS vs GT

Irfan Pathan has termed Shikhar Dhawan an IPL legend for his consistent performances over the years in the prestigious league.

Dhawan scored an unbeaten 62 off 53 deliveries in Tuesday (May 3) night's IPL 2022 encounter between the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and the Gujarat Titans (GT). His perfectly-paced innings, along with Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Liam Livingstone's belligerent knocks, helped PBKS chase down the 144-run target with four overs to spare.

While reviewing the PBKS-GT clash during a discussion on Star Sports, Irfan Pathan highlighted Shikhar Dhawan's stupendous record in the IPL. He observed:

"He (Dhawan) is an IPL legend, he is that type of a batter. The 15th season is going on and there have been only two seasons where he has not scored 300 runs. He has scored at least 300 runs in every other season, he brings that sort of performance."

Speaking about Dhawan's knock against the Titans, the former India all-rounder pointed out that the veteran southpaw ensured that the Punjab Kings didn't lose a flurry of wickets at the start of their innings. Pathan explained:

"He was required to show his experience today and he did that. The way he built his innings at the start when the ball was moving around. It was extremely necessary for the Punjab Kings not to lose too many wickets at the start."

Dhawan is the second-highest run-scorer in IPL history. His 6153 runs are behind only the 6469 runs amassed by Virat Kohli, having played 15 matches fewer than his fellow Delhiite.

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"Shikhar Dhawan was not trying to repeatedly put bat to ball" - Irfan Pathan

Shikhar Dhawan breached the 50-run mark for the 49th time in the IPL [P/C: iplt20.com]

Irfan Pathan pointed out that Dhawan was willing to play the waiting game against the new ball before accelerating after the ball stopped darting around. He elaborated:

"He was leaving the new ball. When Mohammed Shami and Ferguson were bowling, he was not trying to repeatedly put bat to ball. But once he got set, the ball stopped moving, he put his full experience and played an extremely important knock."

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The former Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) player concluded by highlighting the importance of Dhawan being amongst the runs for the franchise. Pathan said:

"When Shikhar Dhawan scores runs for Punjab Kings, the other batters score runs around him and can play fearlessly. It was a praiseworthy knock."

Shikhar Dhawan is expected to play the sheet anchor's role for the Punjab Kings, with plenty of explosive batters in their lineup. He played his part to perfection in last night's game as Rajapaksa and Livingstone played the aggressor's role at the other end.