LONDON: Had KL Rahul been fit, Shikhar Dhawan might not even have made the Champions Trophy squad, a tournament that has already seen him score two hundreds. In 2013, when little was expected of him, he topped the batting charts in the competition. It didn’t matter that he and Rohit Sharma were a new set of openers for the eventual victors ahead of a major tournament. Since then, consistency has been missing, but it’s hard to overlook the record of the two in major ICC tournaments. Whenever one fails, talks surface why someone of the calibre of Ajinkya Rahane is benched, but these two continue to form a vital cog in India’s ODI wheel.
Unlike other modern-day openers, these two don’t hit the accelerator from the word go. It’s a style of play that has yielded rich dividends. Being left and right-handed, the two don’t have plenty in common, but it’s hard to tell if one is in form or not, irrespective of the runs they make. On any given day, if one of them clicks it’s great, else it might look silly. But what they do together is compliment each other in contrasting styles.
While the norm is to give explosive starts at the top, these two mostly prefer going around at four an over in the Powerplay, being there and seeing off the new ball to lay a platform. From here, one will try to press the accelerator, while the other accumulates. It’s one of the most talked-about basics, that one from the top order should stay as long as possible, while others around him bat freely. It’s easier said than done. It’s not like the other old-school batting trick, where one goes all out and the other rotates strike. Apart from punishing loose balls, they don’t go for big shots unless the situation demands.
In the 55 matches they have opened together, Dhawan and Rohit have nine century partnerships, and most of them have the same pattern. Even if they fail to convert a start and make a hundred, the effort gives the middle-order the perfect launchpad to go after the bowling. “I think the way Shikhar batted was really good to see. Rohit was taking a bit of time and understandably, because he’s come back after so long to international cricket. So from that regard I think both starting well was the main factor for us last time (2013). And this time as well, the same thing has happened,” captain Virat Kohli said of the openers.
This is what the duo did against Pakistan as well. That Sarfaraz Ahmed played into their hands by bowling left-arm spinner Imad Wasim meant the two settled in without any fuss. Despite losing momentum time and again due to rain interruptions, Dhawan and Rohit’s ploy to take on the attack soon after play resumed meant Pakistan never really got a chance to go on the offensive. If the two can replicate this further down the tournament, India will be hard to stop.
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