Dhawan struck nine fours and a six in his 55-ball unbeaten 73 as the home side chased down the small target of 130 with two overs to spare at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium at Uppal here.
The India opener, who had an impressive Test debut against Australia in March, shared 74 runs from 9.2 overs with Hanuma Vihari (25 off 23 balls) for the third wicket as the Sunrisers reached 130 for three in 18 overs. Captain Kumar Sangakkara contributed run-a-ball 21.
Dhawan had scored an unbeaten 63 in his first match of the IPL season for a lost cause against Chennai Super Kings in Sunrisers’ away match on April 25.
Despite today’s win, their sixth in 10 matches, the Sunrisers remained at fifth place with 12 points. Mumbai, whose three-game winning streak was snapped today, also remained at fourth place with 12 points from 10 matches.
Chasing the modest target of 130, the Sunrisers lost opener Akshath Reddy (7) in the third over with just 16 on the board.
Reddy was done in by a Mitchell Johnson slower ball as he attempted to slice it over the covers but ended up ballooning in the air for Dwayne Smith to take an easy catch at covers.
Despite the early jolt, the home side had nothing much to worry about as the asking rate was small and captain Sangakkara and Dhawan finding the boundaries.
Sangakkara hit the first four of his innings off his Sri Lankan compatriot Lasith Malinga in the fifth over and then finished off-spinner Harbhajan Singh with two consecutive boundaries in the sixth over.
Dhawan was also settling down well with a four off Pragyan Ojha and a six off Harbhajan after hitting two boundaries off Dhawal Kulkarni early on.
