Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Reaction
Shikhar Dhawan plays a stroke. Photo Credit: BCCI.

There’s this strong feeling that nobody could beat Shikhar Dhawan when it comes to the 50-over format. More often than not, he bosses the game owing to his significant contribution. Evidently, he was the only Indian cricketer who crossed the margin of 50 runs against Australia in the ODI opener at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Moreover, in the ongoing second ODI in Rajkot, he missed the 100-run milestone by just four runs.

Earlier, Virat Kohli lost the toss and was given the task to set the target for the Aussies. Dhawan was the star performer. He played a majestic knock in the do or die match at Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) Stadium. The southpaw looked in good touch right from the start and shared an 81-run stand with an opening partner, Rohit Sharma before Adam Zampa broke the partnership by sending back Sharma to pavilion at 42.

But, it couldn’t stop Dhawan, who opted to play fearlessly. It was looking that he will reach his first century since the ICC World Cup 2019, but unfortunately ended up handing an easy catch to Mitchell Starc on the ball of Kane Richardson. The opener flashes a full-beaming smile after losing his wicket.

Virat Kohli, who was standing at the non-striker’s end, was disappointed to see his partner missing the ton after scoring 96 off 90 balls. Indian skipper Kohli could also not continue his show for longer, losing his wicket off the spinner Adam Zampa at 78.

Virat Kohli upset as Shikhar Dhawan misses a triple-figure mark – watch the video:

The southpaw Dhawan has also impressed with his knock in the first ODI match in Mumbai. On the other side, India kept on losing wickets, but he didn’t stop. He went on to score 74 runs, highest by the Indian batter in that particular match in which the hosts received a 10-wicket drubbing. While India lost the match facing its biggest defeat against Australia in India in terms of wickets.

Meanwhile, India has given the target of 341 runs to the visitors, Australia. KL Rahul had also impressed with his knock by scoring 80 runs.