IPL 2023, RR vs PBKS: Shikhar Dhawan Joins Warner & Kohli in Indian Premier League 50 Fifty Plus Scores Club

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Punjab Kings captain Shikhar Dhawan on Wednesday (April 5) became the third player in Indian Premier League history to score 50 fifty-plus scores with a half-century against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2023.

Dhawan scored a 56-ball knock of 86 against the Royals in match 9 of IPL 2023 at the first match to be hosted by the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, the second home for Rajasthan Royals.

The PBKS skipper shared a splendid 90-run opening stand with Prabhsimran Singh, who was the major contributor in the partnership, having smashed a 34-ball 60.

Dhawan, later, carried his bat through to help PBKS set a challenging total of 197/4. At one stage, the left-hander was batting on 29 from 29 balls and in the next 27 balls, he added 57 runs to take PBKS to a huge total.

In fact, his innings also garnered over 14 million viewership on JioCinema, the digital broadcster for IPL in India. With that knock, the southpaw joined Royal Challengers Bangalore's Virat Kohli and Delhi Capitals' David Warner to achieve the feat of 50 fifty plus scores in the cash-rich league.

Dhawan's 86-run knock included 9 fours and 3 sixes. This was also his 48th fifty in IPL. He is only behind Warner for most fifties in IPL history. Warner has scored 56 fifties and currently sits on 60 fifty plus scores in IPL thanks to his four hundreds.

Kohli has scored 45 fifties and 5 hundreds, while Dhawan, who reached the milestone, has smashed 48 fifties and 2 hundreds in IPL. Dhawan also owns the record for most fours in IPL with 716 in 207 innings.

The 37-year-old seasoned opener, who was named the skipper of PBKS just ahead of IPL 2023, is also the second highest run-getter in IPL, having amassed 6370 runs at an average of 35.58 and a strike rage of 126.71. He also has struck 136 sixes in IPL so far.