Calculated risks worked for him, says Shikhar
MOHALI: There is little one can do when Shikhar Dhawan plans to attack. Well, the ingredients were all there on a sunny Sunday afternoon on a placid track and a medium-pace attack trying to find some assistance from the pitch, unsuccessfully. A good knock was there for the take and Shikhar didn’t disappoint. The opener — not known for his technique and more of a puncher or enforcer — scored 143 at a venue where he had got a debut century in 2013. This comes as a relief for India who see this series as preparation for the World Cup, to be held in England soon after the Indian Premier League (IPL).
It has taken Shikhar 18 matches to get a triple-figure score with his last century coming against Pakistan — 114 in September in the Asia Cup. His form and India’s opening woes were becoming a cause of concern in this series but both Shikhar and Rohit Sharma, who missed a deserved century by five runs, gave India a great start by raising 193 runs for the first wicket.
The form of Shikhar and Rohit will be the biggest plus India have looked to take from this series. In the first three matches of this series, the openers had partnerships of 4, 1 and 11 and calls have grown to replace at least one of them and try a new combination. However, the management persisted with the pair in Mohali.
Shikhar started by guiding a wayward delivery from Pat Cummins for four in the first over, announcing his intent. A placid Mohali track helped his cause as Australia struggled to contain the flow of runs. While left-arm pacer Jason Behrendorff kept things tight at one end and caused a few difficulties, especially to Shikhar, the opener never felt any pressure with Cummins leaking runs at the other end.
His half-century came off 44 balls (9x4) while Rohit slowly built his innings. As the innings progressed, a confident Shikhar hit the first of three sixes off Glenn Maxwell. Rohit fell in the 31st over, after the pair had raised 193. Shikhar lumbered on completing his century off 97 balls, with a four off Adam Zampa. By the time Australia saw the back of Shikhar, India had scored 254. His 143 (115b, 8x4, 3x6) perhaps has assured him of a World Cup ticket, silenced his critics and eased the team management’s worries. “Another good innings, and I really enjoyed timing the ball,” Shikhar said. “The wicket was really nice and I took calculated risks. They were bowling well and I knew I could get the runs. I was happy my smart work paid off.”