There’s something about Indian left-right openers in One-Day Internationals. There was Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar. There was Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag. And now of course, there is Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma.
In four Champions Trophy 2017 matches so far, India’s opening partnerships have read 136 (against Pakistan), 138 (against Sri Lanka), 23 (against South Africa) and 87 (against Bangladesh). That’s a combined total of 384 runs in four matches. Pre-tournament favourites England’s opening pair did not cross 50 even once in the four matches they played. It’s only in their last two matches that Fakhar Zaman and Azhar Ali have managed to give Pakistan some stability at the top – and that too, because of some luck. If India are considered firm favourites to win the title on Sunday, it’s largely because of their brilliant two openers.
Temporary form, permanent class
And if it sounds strange, it’s important to realise that these two came into the tournament amidst some criticism. Dhawan had a sub-par, injury-ridden 2016, losing his place in the Test team to KL Rahul and came into the Champions Trophy with scores of 1 and 11 against England in his last two ODIs. Rohit Sharma also had his injury woes and did not have the best of times in the 2017 edition of the Indian Premier League. Questions were raised about their recent form when it was announced that they would be the two main openers in India’s CT campaign.
But the selectors knew what they were doing. In ICC tournaments, there is no one better than Dhawan. The 2013 Champions Trophy and the 2015 World Cup saw him amass four centuries in the two tournaments. Rohit Sharma may not have reached those levels but he still has four fifties and a century to boot in the two 50-over ICC tournaments he has played in.
Not surprisingly, they’ve both stepped up – and how in this tournament. Dhawan has regained his regality of yore. He has always been a confidence player and now that it’s all coming together, he’s only getting better. His earlier tentativeness is gone – he’s picking his shots with ease and isn’t hesitating. The trademark cuts and the slap over gully have returned. Dhawan is in pristine form.
Rohit-Dhawan among the best in the business
As for Rohit Sharma, he’s back to the place where it all came together for him and he’s paying due tribute. It was here in the UK in 2013 where Rohit Sharma was first promoted to the opener’s slot and he’s never looked back since. He began with 91 against Pakistan where he was a trifle slow, followed up with a 78 against Sri Lanka and was at his stylish best in his unbeaten 123 against Bangladesh.
“The way Rohit and Shikhar batted, it just gave me so much confidence sitting in the changing room,” said Kohli in the post-match press conference. “These guys just went out and especially Shikhar, the way he took off was outstanding. Those two guys really dent the opposition mentally”.
In 58 matches together, Dhawan and Rohit Sharma already have 10 century stands with 2834 runs at an average of 49.71. Taking a minimum of 30 ODI innings as a cutoff, that average is higher than the likes of Ganguly-Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist-Matthew Hayden, Virender Sehwag-Tendulkar and Herschelle Gibbs-Gary Kirsten. Only Gordon Greenidge-Desmond Haynes and Gambhir-Sehwag have a better average.
These are fantastic numbers and they’re right up there with some of the best in the world. Dhawan and Rohit Sharma are making a case to be considered among the best in the business. And while the bowlers have certainly set up the wins for India, these two have ensured that opposition bowlers have hardly had a chance against India’s batting.
