9 years on, the bond is still strong with Rohit Sharma: Shikhar Dhawan

Senior batter and team India opener Shikhar Dhawan has talked about his bond with the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma as the Men in Blue thrashed team England in the first ODI match played on July 12 (Tuesday). Chasing a small target of 111 runs, the Indian openers completed the task without facing any problems and gained a lead of 1-0 in the series.

The duo of Rohit and Dhawan also achieved a feat during the chase as they became the fourth opening pair in ODI to go past 5000 runs. They also became the second Indian opening pair after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly to go past the milestone.

Congratulations to the team India for the spectacular victory tweeted Dhawan

After the match, a delighted Shikhar Dhawan took to Twitter to express his happiness over batting with his captain Rohit Sharma and also looked satisfied with the team’s excellent victory. “9 years on, the bond is still strong @ImRo45. Congratulations to Team India for the spectacular victory,” Dhawan wrote in his Twitter post captioning the picture of him and Rohit.

9 years on, the bond is still strong 💪 @ImRo45 Congratulations to the Team India for the spectacular victory ✌️ #IndVsEng #ODISeries pic.twitter.com/eWiQvCP3zq

— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) July 12, 2022

To note, both Rohit and Dhawan started opening the innings together during the 2013 Champions Trophy and the duo has given several match-winning starts to the Men in Blue over the years. Talking about their camaraderie as the pair for India at the top of the order, Rohit also highlighted how they understand each other well.

“(Dhawan and I) have played a lot of cricket together. We understand each other well, except for the first ball (when there was a run-out chance)… We know what he brings for us; a very experienced player. The pull or hook is a high-risk shot, but I back myself to play that. As long as it keeps coming, I am happy,” he said at the post-match presentation.

As far as the first ODI is concerned, team India won the toss and opted to have a field first. Senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah was simply amazing as he scalped a total of six wickets. Mohammed Shami also scalped three crucial wickets, while Prasidh Krishna also grabbed one wicket. Chasing 111 runs to win, Rohit (76*) and Shikhar (31*) stitched an unbeaten 114-run opening partnership and smashed the English bowling line-up to take lead in a three-match series. Both teams will face each other during the second ODI slated to start on July 14.