Shikhar Dhawan has a series of top-class performances with the bat from his India career but he remembers one knock of his fondly that saw him battling immense pain en route to a world cup century against Australia.
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In their second match of the 2019 ODI World Cup, India opted to bat first against Australia and put on a mammoth 352/5 in 50 overs at The Oval in London. The base for the total was set by Dhawan’s iconic 117 off 109.
While a century is always special especially against a team like Australia, what makes that innings even more memorable is the fact that Dhawan had copped a blow to his finger when he attempted a pull shot against the bowling of Pat Cummins early on in the match.
The painful blow resulted in Dhawan summoning the Indian team physio multiple times on the field for treatment and he carried on with his innings.
Later on, scans would reveal Dhawan broke his thumb as a result of the impact which tragically ended his world cup participation.
Despite the injury, Dhawan went on to score century that comprised 16 fours.
“I have a few favourite innings that are close to my heart, especially the 2019 World Cup,” Dhawan told Hindustan Times. “We were playing a match against Australia. I was batting on 25 when I broke my thumb. The ball came at 150 clicks and hit my here (pointing at his left thumb). I popped painkillers and scored 117 from there.”
Another one of his favourites innings also belongs to an ODI World Cup which was also his maiden century in the competition. It came at the 2015 edition against South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
“The MCG one was also a very good knock of mine,” Dhawan said. “More so because I wasn’t scoring runs prior to it. I am thankful to (MS) Dhoni for backing me and persisted with me in the World Cup. I was always able to play well in ODIs, but the occasional dip in form is inevitable. That’s when I scored those 137 runs. I like that one too.”
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