IND vs ENG: Rohit Sharma Understood That Shikhar Dhawan Was Making A Comeback And He Needed Some Time – Pragyan Ojha

Former India National Cricket Team spin bowler Pragyan Ojha has said that the India all-format captain Rohit Sharma understood that veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan was playing in India colours after a long time and he needed some time to get settled in the middle.

India showed pure dominance in the match against England in the first ODI of the three-match ODI series at the Kennington Oval, London. Chasing the small target of 111-run, Rohit and Dhawan had an unbeaten 114-run partnership and India won by 10 wickets.

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Rohit was the aggressor in the partnership as he smashed 76* runs off 58 balls, including 6 fours and 5 sixes. Dhawan, on the other hand, scored 31* runs off 54 balls, including 4 fours.

Meanwhile, Ojha said that Rohit provided Dhawan with the time he needed to get settled in the middle.

“Rohit Sharma understood that Shikhar Dhawan was making a comeback of sorts (Dhawan only plays ODIs for India now). Dhawan needed some time and this was the perfect platform for him. There were not many runs to get and the full 50 overs to play. Rohit gave him time,” Ojha said on Cricbuzz.

“It was almost like match practice or match simulation for Dhawan. Rohit just did the job that was expected of him,” he added.

The Dhawan-Rohit pair is highly valuable – Pragyan Ojha

Former India National Cricket Team spinner further said that the opening duo of Dhawan and Rohit is highly valuable for the India National Cricket Team. He added that the Kennington Oval surface was challenging for the batters and the bowlers were getting the help.

“The Dhawan-Rohit pair is highly valuable. Even if we look at today’s partnership, the wicket wasn’t easy to bat on. The ball was seaming. The bowlers were bowling in the right areas. Dhawan was not in his normal flow, so Rohit took charge of scoring and allowed Dhawan to settle in,” he added.

“Dravid, who is now the coach, may have told the same to the openers. It could be because of the advice to get some practice that the Indian openers did not look in any hurry and were taking their time,” he said.

Meanwhile, the partnership between Rohit and Dhawan in the first ODI against England was their 18th-century partnership in ODIs and they also crossed the 5,000-run mark in partnership in ODIs.

Also Read: ENG vs IND: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan Become 4th Opening Pair To Score 5000 Partnership Runs In ODIs

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