Australia has been Shikhar Dhawan’s second home, in all senses. Apart from his family staying there, it is the ease with which he plays at the Australian grounds making it one of his favourite countries to tour. India, with a neck and neck battle in the second ODI, levelled the series and as the decider awaits to unfold on MCG, Shikhar will surely be the batsman to turn things around for Men in Blue.
Shikhar set foot in Australia five years after his ODI debut. India were preparing for the upcoming 2015 World Cup, and Shikhar had very little time to get himself ready. His first mentionable performance came against England in the ODI series, as he put up 38 on a tough Perth pitch where both sides struggled to survive.
However, as soon as World Cup started, Shikhar moulded himself into a completely different cricketer. A rare class of temperament mixed with aggressive style, Shikhar was the perfect opener for India in the tournament. His 73 in partnership with Virat Kohli paved India’s way to a total of 300 in a high-voltage match against Pakistan, helping India win the match to keep their unbeaten tag alive against the neighbours in the World Cup.
However, his best ODI knock came here at MCG, in the next match against South Africa. One of the strongest contenders of the title, South Africa boasted of arguably the greatest bowler of the era – Dale Steyn. However, the fact hardly affected Shikhar who took charge after India lost the wicket of Rohit Sharma early in the match. He broke Stephen Fleming’s record to register the highest score against South Africa in a World Cup match – his innings of 137 decorated with 16 fours and two sixes is his personal best in ODI and came here at MCG.
After the World Cup, Shikhar returned to MCG a year later, as India played the third ODI of the 2015-16 ODI series against the hosts. Though India did not have the result they expected, MCG did not disappoint Shikhar. In what looked like a similar scenario as the 2015 match, Shikhar helped India bring back stability with a 68-run knock after Rohit Sharma departed early. Later, he scored a 32-ball 42 in the second T20I at the same ground and played a vital role in India’s series win.
Averaging 59.25 at the ground, Shikhar will surely be one of India’s most crucial players as the team heads out for the third ODI. The ground has brought the best out of him earlier, and surely, we can put our faith on our man to pull off a magnificent knock and spread his ‘Melbourne Magic’ yet again.
Australia has been Shikhar Dhawan’s second home, in all senses. Apart from his family staying there, it is the ease with which he plays at the Australian grounds making it one of his favourite countries to tour. India, with a neck and neck battle in the second ODI, levelled the series and as the decider awaits to unfold on MCG, Shikhar will surely be the batsman to turn things around for Men in Blue.
Shikhar set foot in Australia five years after his ODI debut. India were preparing for the upcoming 2015 World Cup, and Shikhar had very little time to get himself ready. His first mentionable performance came against England in the ODI series, as he put up 38 on a tough Perth pitch where both sides struggled to survive.
However, as soon as World Cup started, Shikhar moulded himself into a completely different cricketer. A rare class of temperament mixed with aggressive style, Shikhar was the perfect opener for India in the tournament. His 73 in partnership with Virat Kohli paved India’s way to a total of 300 in a high-voltage match against Pakistan, helping India win the match to keep their unbeaten tag alive against the neighbours in the World Cup.
However, his best ODI knock came here at MCG, in the next match against South Africa. One of the strongest contenders of the title, South Africa boasted of arguably the greatest bowler of the era – Dale Steyn. However, the fact hardly affected Shikhar who took charge after India lost the wicket of Rohit Sharma early in the match. He broke Stephen Fleming’s record to register the highest score against South Africa in a World Cup match – his innings of 137 decorated with 16 fours and two sixes is his personal best in ODI and came here at MCG.
After the World Cup, Shikhar returned to MCG a year later, as India played the third ODI of the 2015-16 ODI series against the hosts. Though India did not have the result they expected, MCG did not disappoint Shikhar. In what looked like a similar scenario as the 2015 match, Shikhar helped India bring back stability with a 68-run knock after Rohit Sharma departed early. Later, he scored a 32-ball 42 in the second T20I at the same ground and played a vital role in India’s series win.
Averaging 59.25 at the ground, Shikhar will surely be one of India’s most crucial players as the team heads out for the third ODI. The ground has brought the best out of him earlier, and surely, we can put our faith on our man to pull off a magnificent knock and spread his ‘Melbourne Magic’ yet again.
