Shikhar Dhawan hit a sparkling century to help India reach 352/5 in a key World Cup clash against Australia at the Oval on Sunday.
Dhawan led the Indian charge after captain Virat Kohli won the toss and batted – a decision he said was a “no-brainer” given the sunny conditions in south London.
The left-handed Dhawan put on 127 runs with opening partner Rohit Sharma as India reached 190 for one in 33 overs.
Following Sharma’s dismissal for 57, Dhawan stood firm at the other end, however, to convert just his second fifty-plus score in 10 innings into a hundred with a single of Marcus Stoinis.
He acknowledged his century – his 17th at this level – by taking off his helmet and waving his bat to huge cheers from a largely India-supporting crowd.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to his sparkling 117:
India's openers this #CWC19:
— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 9, 2019
v 🇿🇦 ➡️ Rohit 💯
v 🇦🇺 ➡️ Dhawan 💯
Who's next? 🙌 #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/p8rdhU0Pwa
Shikhar Dhawan in ODIs:
— Rajneesh Gupta (@rgcricket) June 9, 2019
in other matches: Mts- 110, Runs- 4242, Avg- 41.18, 100s-11)
in WC + CT : Mts- 20, Runs- 1238, Avg- 65.15, 100s- 6)
🙏#INDvAUS #AUSvIND #CWC19
Shikhar Dhawan’s 17th ODI hundred was defined by his high number of rotating shots. He kept busily ticking the strike over and never got bogged down. He capitalised against very short balls & when Australia offered him width. He scored quickly against both pace & spin. #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/LRouUwHjcd
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) June 9, 2019
Don't underestimate the importance of the Dhawan innings. Allowed Rohit and Kohli to ease themselves in and set the scene for Pandya.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) June 9, 2019
Most hundreds for an Indian opener in ICC (CT & World Cup) Trophies
— V I P E R™ (@TheViper_offl) June 9, 2019
6 - Shikhar Dhawan
6 - Sachin Tendulkar
4 - Sourav Ganguly
Most Hundreds for an Indian batsman in ICC Trophies (CT & WC)
7 - Sourav Ganguly
7 - Sachin Tendulkar
6 - Shikhar Dhawan#CWC19 #INDvAUS #AUSvIND
India's top-3 all scoring 50+ in a World Cup match:
— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) June 9, 2019
Sehwag, Tendulkar, Gambhir v SA, 2011
Rohit, Dhawan, Kohli v Aus, 2019#IndvAus #CWC19
Just to give you an idea of how good Dhawan has been in ICC tournaments, since 2013 he has scored 5 more centuries than Virat Kohli in ICC ODI events in the same number of matches. Kohli has a slightly higher average since he has 8 not-outs compared to Dhawan’s 1.
— Rehan Ulhaq (@Rehan_ulhaq) June 9, 2019
Shikhar Dhawan today: (117 off 109 balls)
— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) June 9, 2019
- 1st Indian with four ODI hundreds in England
- 2nd visiting player with four ODI hundreds in England
- Fastest to 1000 ODI runs in England (19 inns)
- 3rd highest World Cup score vs Australia#CWC19 #INDvAUS
Highest Score by Asian Batsman vs Aus in WC
— CricBeat (@Cric_beat) June 9, 2019
Dhawan - 117 (2019)*
De Silva - 107 (1996)
Sangakkara - 104 (2015)#INDvAUS
Shikhar Dhawan ODI average
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) June 9, 2019
in World Cups: 66.50
in ICC events: 72.52
in ICC events in England: 82.10
at The Oval: 146.00 #CWC19
Shikhar Dhawan in Non ICC tournaments vs Shikhar Dhawan in ICC tournaments #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/jDAaxdEJm4
— Roshan Rai (@RoshanKrRai) June 9, 2019
Dhawan & Rohit have shared 6 century partnerships v Australia, tying the ODI record for most 100 stands by a pair of batsmen against one team -- Greenidge & Haynes, six 100 stands for WI v India. #CWC19
— Andy Zaltzman (@ZaltzCricket) June 9, 2019