Veteran cricketer Shikhar Dhawan announced his retirement from domestic and international cricket on Saturday morning via his social media handle. The left-handed batsman was once among the constants of the Indian team but had fallen out of favour with the selectors over the past few years. Despite his recent absence from the team, Dhawan played quite a few knocks where his class was on full display. Below are the best knocks from one of the stalwarts of Indian cricket.
Shikhar Dhawan’s Top 5 Hits:
1) Heroism of the champions trophy:
MS Dhoni played a risk by pairing Dhawan and Rohit together during the opening Champions Trophy clash against South Africa in Cardiff on June 6, 2013. Looking back, it turned out to be the start of one of the most terrifying opening partnerships in cricket of all time, with the duo putting on 127 runs for the opening partnership in Cardiff and going on to add 17 more partnerships of 100 or more in the future.
Dhawan, meanwhile, scored 114 runs off 94 balls and put the Proteas players under pressure from the start, setting the tone for the match and the extent of the tournament to come.
2) Sleep test debut:
Dhawan replaced Virender Sehwag in the starting XI to make his Test debut for India in the third match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. While many batsmen before and after him began their international Test career with a century, perhaps none has been as dominant as Gabbar.
The 27-year-old Dhawan took on all the Australian bowlers in a manner that would soon become familiar to Indian spectators for years. The left-hander broke the record for the fastest century by a player on Test debut, reaching the mark in just 85 balls. Eventually, Dhawan (187) fell 13 runs short of a well-deserved double century, but the destruction had already been done by then, with India finishing the innings on a score of 499.
3) 2015 ODI World Cup:
Prior to the start of the 2015 ODI World Cup, Dhawan had been struggling to perform in Australia but as if a change of heart had occurred to him during the showpiece event, Gabbar was in top form during the match against South Africa. Dhawan scored 137 runs (on 146 balls) to set the tone of the match and help the Men in Blue post a total of 307 in their 50 overs. Meanwhile, the Indian bowlers dominated the Proteas batsmen and finished their innings for just 177, leading to a comfortable 130-run victory.
4) Sri Lanka Series 2017:
Team India would have been in a bind after losing opener Abhinav Mukund early during the first Test match in Galle in 2017 but Dhawan and Cheteshware Pujara went on to build a solid 253-run partnership with the left-hander doing most of the scoring and eventually scoring 190 runs in the innings.
5) Playing with a broken thumb:
During the opening match of the 2019 World Cup against Australia, Dhawan faced the Australian players with a fractured thumb, surviving on some painkillers. However, Dhawan proved his mettle in the game by not just surviving but thriving and eventually scoring 117 runs (92 after he fractured his thumb) off 92 balls and helped the Men in Blue score a total of 352 in their 50 overs, which proved to be too much for the Kangaroos.
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