A gamut of expressions shimmered across Shikhar Dhawan’s face while he addressed the media here on Wednesday evening. The fatigue after playing a long innings, the consternation over gifting his wicket and the pride of having scored 190, were all evident.
But, largely it was also about his expansive grin and it is understandable because between his two Test hundreds here — 2015 and now — Dhawan played 14 innings without scoring a ton. His relief was palpable. Excerpts.
Not an original choice
My plans were to go to Melbourne and spend time with my family and get fit for the one-day series. I was in Hong Kong on a holiday and from there I flew to India and joined the team. Destiny had a different plan. I was happy, of course, to make a comeback to the Test side. Unfortunately, (Murali) Vijay wasn’t fit. I had a good run before this Test series and I just came with the same confidence.
A fluent innings
Yeah, actually. My debut innings (against Australia) was more like this one. Even against Bangladesh, I scored a quick hundred, but this was better.
The pitch
The wicket was also good and there wasn’t much spin. But, it has true bounce and good pace and I batted well too. The special thing about this venue is that I am scoring runs.
Countering spin
There wasn’t much turn, so I thought I can attack more. The sweep shot is a very individual thing. I am a good sweeper, so I used my strength. They (Sri Lankan bowlers) bowled more on my leg-side.
The dismissal
I was disappointed. I would have loved a 200. But more than that, I got out at the wrong time. It was the last over before tea. But the way I was playing, I was confident that I could clear mid-off. I was in that zone and I backed myself. Unfortunately it didn’t go my way.
Consistency benchmark
When I got out of the Test side, it hurt me. But then, I moved on and I started playing domestic cricket. One thing about me is that I don’t like to be sad all the time. I like to be happy. I am going to keep doing my fitness training and work on my skill level. I knew if it (a Test chance) has to come, it will come.