Shikhar Dhawan led India to a thrilling win against West Indies in the first match of the three-ODI series on Friday. The Men in Blue beat the hosts by 3 runs to take the lead in the series.
Dhawan led from the very front and played a fine knock of 97 to help India post 308 for 7 in the stipulated 50 overs. Apart from him, his fellow opener Shubman Gill (64) and Shreyas Iyer (54) scored fifties too.
Watch: Sanju Samson Comes Up With The Save Of The Year To Help India Beat West Indies In A Thriller
In reply, West Indies came up with a spirited fight but eventually fell short by 3 runs, finishing on 305 for 6. Kyle Mayers and Brandon King scored fifties while Romario Shepherd played a quickfire knock towards the end but their efforts were not enough for West Indies.
Shikhar Dhawan disappointed:
Despite leading India to a thrilling win, Shikhar Dhawan was not a very happy man. The reason behind his disappointment was his failure to score century.
Speaking at the end of the game, the skipper spoke about the game as well as his knock. The left-handed batsman was adjudged the Man of the Match for being the top-scorer in the game.
For his captain's knock of 9⃣7⃣, @SDhawan25 bags the Player of the Match award as #TeamIndia seal a thrilling win over West Indies in the first ODI. ? ? #WIvIND
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/tE4PtTx1bd pic.twitter.com/YsM95hV4gD
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 22, 2022
He began by expressing his disappointment over missing out on a well-deserved century before praising his teammates’ effort. Dhawan admitted that he did not expect such a close finish. He further said that keeping the cool during the pressure situation helped India win the game.
Disappointed not to get the 100, but it was a good effort by the team. We good a good score in the end. There were nerves in the end and didn’t expect it to turn that way,” said Shikhar Dhawan.
“We kept our cool and one small change in the end where we pushed the fine leg back and that really helped us. The discussion was to use the bigger side as much as we can and we want to keep on learning and make ourselves better for the rest of the competition,” he added.
Shikhar Dhawan will be looking to overcome his disappointment in the next ODI. The southpaw will have a chance to not only score a century but also lead India to a series win.