Given Shikhar Dhawan’s penchant for big knocks, his dismissal soon after completing a hundred by his standards would deject him. More so, as success this season would steer him further to national reckoning.
With the regular pair of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir under-performing and no specific back-up opener in the range, a string of big scores could improve his stakes. Many reckon this season is a make or break one for Dhawan. An opportunity presented itself on Saturday against the toiling West Zone, which he capitalised on but left when he could have done better. “I felt sad, because usually I don’t get out soon after I score a hundred. I know the significance of hundreds and that too big hundreds. I had a plan in my mind but he (Kamlesh Makvana) had a different plan and that worked,” he said.
Ironically, he got out playing his percentage stroke—skew through cover or extra cover. Throughout the 179-balled innings he executed this shot with utmost efficacy. Even on occasions he couldn’t reach to the pitch of the delivery, he went through with the shot, the power thus compensating for timing. But for once, his intentions didn’t materialise.
That was perhaps his first mistake of the day. Apart from a few teasers from Abhishek Nayar, which somehow eluded his tenuous pokes, he was untroubled, and as the day progressed he expanded the canvas of his strokes. It took him just a Harmeet Singh over to get from 81 to his hundred. He hit five boundaries including an upright paddle sweep. Harmeet Singh’s arm-ball slid down the leg-side and he had neither the room for the conventional paddle sweep nor was it close enough for the leg glance. Hence the stroke, with the T20 stamp all over it.
“When we went in, there was still dew around and the ball was doing just enough. So we tried not to lose our wickets. Their spinners, too, came along and bowled well. So our run-rate wasn’t high in the first session. But we picked it up in the post lunch session,” said Dhawan.