India vs Australia 2019: I Took Calculative Risks, Rohit Sharma Was Class - Shikhar Dhawan

It was a brilliant show at Mohali by the Indian stylish opener Shikhar Dhawan. The flamboyant batsman showed his class to the Australian side by asking their fielders to chase the ball more often than not. Alongside Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma was also brilliant, who smashed the ball beautifully but missed a century by 5 runs.

Right from the first over, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar went berserk with their flamboyant knocks for the team. The duo stitched 193 runs for the first wicket before Rohit Sharma missing out a well-deserved century with 5 runs short. However, Shikhar Dhawan continued his brilliant show, who went on to smash 143 runs in 115 balls. He numbered as many as 18 boundaries and 3 sixes.

The stunning partnership made them the second highest scoring Indian duo. The opening pairing surpassed the previous best of 4,387 runs between Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.

Smart Work Paid off – Shikhar Dhawan

The left-handed batsman Shikhar Dhawan quoted that the wicket was nice to bat for the batsman with the new ball. Dhawan quoted that he played the game smartly, which helped him to come good.

”It was a good inning from me. The wicket was really nice, I took calculative risks, they were bowling good lines and I was respecting it. Smart work paid off for me and I’m happy about it. When you put so much of hardwork, you expect the outcome to go your way but sometimes it doesn’t.,” Shikhar Dhawan said.

We are communicating well today:

He also highlighted the fact that he and Rohit Sharma were failing on a regular basis. However, he feels that the partnership would turned the tables for the team.

”For both of us (myself and Rohit), we didn’t get a good start from the last few matches. We were communicating well today. If you notice today, we both were on the nineties around the same time. He’s (Rohit) a class batsman. It’s good to see 150-run opening partnership and that’s been our strength,” he added.

Australia will feel pressure:

Speaking of the chase, Dhawan believes that it is not going to be an easy task for the visitors. He added that there will be pressure on Australian players right throughout the game. Dhawan also predicted that the pitch would be deteriorated as the game goes on.

‘I liked that shot when I stepped out and hit it over covers (his stand-out shot). It’s a good surface to bat on, we’ve got 350 on the board and Australians will feel the pressure from ball one. Wicket is going to get slower, there seems to be some reverse for the bowlers and we should look to exploit it,” he concluded.

All in all, it has been a brilliant knock from the Indian opening batsman. The knock was very important for Dhawan to grow in confidence, especially, after the recent flop shows.