Shikhar Dhawan is counted among one of the most aggressive openers India ever had. The Southpaw has been a regular in India’s dressing room for more than a decade now. He hogged the attention of cricket fraternities in 2004 after getting awarded the player of the match trophy for his explosive 505 runs during the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. The swashbuckling cricketer, nicknamed Gabbar, is known for going after his opponent from ball one.
On Sunday as Shikhar Dhawan celebrates his 36th birthday; here we take a look at his top five knocks:
187 runs off 174 balls vs Australia in Mohali (2013)
Dhawan started his Test career on a blistering note by smashing the quickest hundred by a debutant in the red-ball cricket against Australia during the Oz team’s tour of India in 2013. Opening the batting for India alongside Murali Vijay, Dhawan raced to his first Test hundred off 85 balls. He went on to score 187 runs off 174 balls with the help of 33 fours and two sixes. He did not bat during India’s second innings but was awarded the player of the match award for his brilliant show. India went on to win the Mohali Test by six wickets.
114 runs off 94 balls vs South Africa in Cardiff (2013)
Dhawan followed up his grand Test debut in red-ball cricket with a fiery 114 runs knock against South Africa during the group stage of the 2013 Champions Trophy in Cardiff. South Africa invited India to bat first after winning the toss. Stepping on the occasion, Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma added 127 runs for the first wicket. Rohit was eventually dismissed by Ryan McLaren in 22nd over. But Dhawan continued his good work as he went on to score a century.
Riding on his hundred, India posted 331/7 in 50 overs. In reply, India bowled out South Africa for 305 runs to clinch the match by 26 runs.
190 runs off 168 balls vs Sri Lanka in Galle (2017)
Shikhar Dhawan’s highest score in the longest format of the game came in 2017 against Sri Lanka in Galle. He scored 190 runs off 168 balls as India defeated Sri Lanka by 304 runs. The left-handed batter’s 190 run knock was studded with 31 boundaries and he spent close to four hours on the crease (235 minutes).
137 runs off 146 balls vs South Africa in Melbourne (2015)
India’s record against South Africa in World Cup was not good. However, during the Group stage match in the 2015 World Cup, India reversed this record by hammering the Proteas side by 130 runs. Dhawan led India’s batting charges in this match as he smashed 137 runs off 146 balls. He was also honoured with the player of the match trophy for his performance.
132* runs off 90 balls vs Sri Lanka in Dambulla (2017)
After blanking Sri Lanka 3-0 in the Test series, Team India started the ODI leg of their tour of the island nation on a high note by defeating the host by nine wickets. Batting first, Sri Lanka huffed and puffed their way to 216 runs before getting bundled out. In reply, India won the match by nine wickets with 127 balls remaining. Dhawan was the pick of batter for India as he smashed an unbeaten 132 runs off 90 balls.
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