Rohit Sharma-Shikhar Dhawan Set Major Milestone In ODIs Against Australia
Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were under pressure to deliver when Virat Kohli decided to bat first in the fourth ODI against Australia. Both the batsmen were having a tough time in the series and needed to give India a good start especially after their failure in the previous ODI when India were chasing 314. In the first three games of the series, the partnership between Rohit and Shikhar read – 4, 0 and 11.
But then again Rohit and Dhawan are two of the best openers in the game and they showed it once again on Sunday. The two starred with the bat, sharing a mammoth partnership of 193 runs. Rohit fell five runs short of his 23rd ODI hundred but his partner Dhawan went on to smash 143 to return to form.
The 193-run stand, nonetheless, helped Rohit and Dhawan better their own record for India’s highest opening stand against Australia.
Rohit and Dhawan had added 178 against Australia in Nagpur in 2013. In the same series, they had added 176 in Jaipur for the opening wicket. Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly are fourth in the list for their 175-run stand in the Kanpur ODI in 1998. Meanwhile, earlier in the innings, Rohit and Dhawan had surpassed Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag to become the second most successful pair for India.
During his 143-run knock, Dhawan also became the third fastest batsmen to reach 10,000 List A runs after Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Dhawan reached the 10,000 List A runs mark in 239 innings. Virat Kohli remains the fastest to have reached the landmark in 219 innings while AB de Villiers is second on the list (225 innings).
India, meanwhile, fully capitalised on the mammoth opening stand and put up a huge total of 358 for 9 in the allotted 50 overs. Leading 2-1 in the series, the Men in Blue can seal the series in this game itself.
