‘No one will be able to snatch Orange Cap away from him’: Aakash Chopra feels Shikhar Dhawan has activated 'beast mode’
In the latest video on his YouTube channel, Chopra highlighted the way Dhawan anchored the chase against PBKS and brilliantly coordinated with his batting partners throughout the innings.
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has heaped praise on Shikhar Dhawan for playing a match-winning knock against Punjab Kings on Sunday in Ahmedabad. The Delhi Capitals opener played an unbeaten knock of 69 off 47 balls to guide his team to a 7-wicket in the chase of 167 at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
This particular knock also took him to the top of the Orange Cap list of IPL 2021, with a total of 380 runs to his credit. In the latest video on his YouTube channel, Chopra highlighted the way Dhawan anchored the chase and brilliantly coordinated with his batting partners throughout the innings.
“Shikhar Dhawan has activated beast mode. What we are seeing from him this year, we have generally not seen that. He tries to hit at the start if Prithvi gets out. If Prithvi is playing, he takes the back seat and allows him to hit,” said Chopra.
“As soon as Prithvi gets out, he changes his gear. He allows Steve Smith to play at run-a-ball to let him regain his form. And he stays there for a long while, he tries his best to stay unbeaten till the end which does not happen every time,” he added.
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Chopra further mentioned that Shikhar Dhawan is currently at his dominant best and will likely retain the Orange Cap for the rest of the season.
“His innings and his maturity, the way he has been batting, he is just sensational. This is the 2.0 version of Shikhar Dhawan, which started in the last IPL, with both the strike rate and consistency up,” said Chopra.
“The Orange Cap is on his head and the way he is playing, I feel no one will be able to snatch it away from him. Earlier mistakes used to happen in between, at times the start was slow but now he is pacing it so well as if he knows the pace of the game like the back of his hand,” concluded Chopra.
