Flashback: The only player to win MOTM in his 200th IPL game
Playing a milestone match is very special for any player in any particular sport. The Indian Premier League (IPL) was introduced way back in the year 2008 and since then many players have played n number of matches. Eight cricketers have managed to feature in 200 IPL games and Shikhar Dhawan is one of them. He appeared in his 200th match in the ongoing 2022 season and he made it a memorable one.
The swashbuckling Dhawan became just the eighth player to appear in 200 IPL games when he took the field against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Match 38 of IPL 2022 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The left-handed batter amassed an unbeaten 88 runs off just 59 deliveries with nine fours and two sixes as PBKS, who batted first, posted a massive total of 187/4 courtesy of Dhawan’s fantastic innings. The 36-years old top-scored for his side with Bhanuka Rajapaksa mustering 42 runs.
CSK were restricted to 176/6 in their 20 overs as PBKS won the encounter by 11 runs. Dhawan was declared the Player of the Match for his match-winning half-century. He became the first player to grab the award in the 200th IPL match. He also smashed the most runs by a player featuring in his landmark 200th game. Rohit Sharma held the previous record as he scored the second-most runs (68) against Delhi Capitals in 2020.
It was truly a milestone match for the Delhi-born Dhawan who also reached the landmark of the 6000 IPL runs. He became only the second player after Virat Kohli to register the feat. Not only this, but the southpaw also recorded the achievement of 9000 runs in the T20 matches. He became just the third Indian after Kohli and Rohit to script the mark. To put the icing on the cake, he also completed 1000 runs against CSK and became the first batter to do. He is now one of the three batters to slam 1000 runs against an opponent in the IPL.
