Shikhar Dhawan was India’s man for the moment in ICC tournements; his performances never disappointed his team on the big stage, and this is a recall of how ‘Gabbar’ entertained during his peak years.
In white-ball internationals, he featured in 167 ODIs and 68 T20Is to score 6793 and 1759 runs respectively. In ODIs he averaged 44.11 and in T20Is he averaged 27.92.
For limited-overs internationals alone, Dhawan hit a total of seventeen centuries – all in ODI matches. Apart from that, there were thirty-nine fifties in One Day Internationals (ODIs) as well as five fifties in T20 Internationals (T20Is).
He played a total number of 34 tests scoring 2315 runs with an average of about forty point sixty one including seven hundreds and five half centuries.
This is a view of the best five innings ever played by Shikhar Dhawan:
117 vs Australia at The Oval in London, 2019 World Cup
A fractured thumb did not stop Dhawan as he produced one of the toughest ever efforts in ODI cricket history. He had got himself going on 25 against Australia in the group match when a delivery with fire at its heels struck him right on the thumb sending him sprawling to earth from agony. However, it was probably this that pushed him further because he batted through with broken finger to add another ninety-two runs to lead India’s innings with an unbeaten century that can be described as full “courage” all around it.He finished up on 117 off just such grim determination against his name which read “guts”. And then India bowled out Australia for only three hundred sixteen when they had scored three fifty two runs batting first. But the next month brought Dhawan’s World Cup to an abrupt end because of a fractured thumb.
114 vs South Africa at Cardiff, 2013 ICC Champions Trophy
The ICC Champions Trophy was the biggest platform for Shikhar Dhawan to exhibit his capabilities since making his debut for India in 2010 and he grabbed it with both hands. He was batting alongside Rohit Sharma, who had also just found his way back into the team as an opener when Dhawan managed his first ever one-day century. He stitched together a partnership of 127 runs with Rohit (65) and added another 83 with Virat Kohli (31) as India piled up a massive total of 331/7. South Africans resisted bravely but couldn’t do more than five wickets short as they finished at three hundred five thus giving Indian a lead of tewnty six runs.
187 vs Australia, Mohali Test, 2013
India were under pressure after Australia had put up four hundred eight on the board in the third test of that series in Mohali.And the left-hander opened himself for business in style during his first appearance with Murali Vijay; where he played sixes and fours crisscrossing each part of Mohali to produce 187 runs which included thirty three fours and two sixes from Shikar’s bat only.The innings laid the foundation of India’s first-innings lead that resulted in their ultimate winning by six wickets.
137 against South Africa in Melbourne, 2015 world cup
India got off to a disastrous start when they lost Rohit for a duck (a third over tragedy). But Shikhar Dhawan took the charge from there onwards by first building up an association of 127 runs with Kohli (46) and then putting on another 125 runs for the fourth wicket with Ajinkya Rahane (79), which took India beyond the 300-run mark. Dhawan’s magnificent innings of 137 off 146 balls provided India with momentum that helped them wrap up South Africa for just 177 in only 40.2 overs. Besides, this innings was important because Dhawan had an atrocious ODI series in Australia just before the onset of World Cup.
190 against Sri Lanka at Galle Test, 2017
Shikhar Dhawan returned after almost nine months absence and he made it count in every possible way scoring a blistering knock of 190 from only one hundred and sixty eight balls after India batted first. The stand out from this innings was Dhawan’s second wicket partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara where they put together runs to help India set a big total of all out off their fifty-five overs. Pujara remained unbeaten on his characteristic gritty century whereas Dhawan struck thirty-one boundaries, deflating the opposition bowlers. In response, Indian team won by an enormous margin of three hundred and four runs.
