With a single off Chennai Super Kings (CSK) spinner Maheesh Theekshana at cover on Tuesday, Punjab Kings (PBKS) opener Shikhar Dhawan reached where only Virat Kohli had gotten before. The left-handed batter is now only the second player after the former Indian cricket team captain Kohli to score 6000 runs in the Indian Premier league (IPL). Dhawan reached the mark in his 200th match in the IPL. He is also the eighth cricketer to play so many IPL games.
In terms of run-tally, Dhawan is currently only behind Kohli. The former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Kohli has amassed 6,402 runs (215 matches) in IPL. Following Kohli and Dhawan are Mumbai Indians' Rohit Sharma (5,764), Delhi Capitals' David Warner (5,668) and Suresh Raina (5,528).
However, Dhawan has surpassed Kohli for another massive record when he touched the score of nine against CSK on Tuesday. The 36-year-old is now the highest run-getter against CSK in IPL. He surpassed Kohli, who has 949 runs in 28 innings at an average of 39.54 against the four-time IPL champions CSK.
Later, Dhawan went on to score his second half-century in IPL 2022. During the course of the match, he also became the third Indian after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to score 9000 T20 runs.
Dhawan has been in an out of the Indian team in the last two years, and was also not a part of India's squad for the T20 World Cup last year.
Speaking on his future with the Indian team, Dhawan said that the door is always open, and it only comes down to the performances of the individual.
"If you perform well, the doors are always open. The call lies with selectors, I am enjoying my journey. I have been performing well and I am enjoying my cricket," the veteran batter had told NDTV during the launch of Shikhar Dhawan Foundation.