ENG vs IND: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan on cusp of joining Ganguly-Tendulkar in elite list

After recording a 2-1 win in the T20I series, Team India will take on England in the first ODI of the three-match series on Tuesday (July 12) at the Kennington Oval in London. The contest will mark the reunion of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, one of the most successful opening pairs in the history of ODI cricket. The duo last played together in the home ODI series against England in March 2021.

It’s majorly because Dhawan is not anymore being considered for the T20I or Test format. Nevertheless, the southpaw continues to be a vital part of India’s ODI set-up and would be raring to make a mark. Meanwhile, Rohit and Dhawan are on the verge of achieving a huge feat as they need just six runs to become the second Indian opening pair to score 5000 ODI runs between them.

While Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar added 6609 in 136 innings, Dhawan and Rohit are on 4994 runs in 111 innings. Overall, the duo will become the fourth pair to get the milestone. West Indies’ Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes (5150 runs in 102 innings) and Australia’s Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden (5372 runs in 114 innings) follow Tendulkar-Ganguly in the elite list.

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan have been a formidable force at the top

Meanwhile, Rohit, who was made a make-shift opener, started opening alongside Shikhar Dhawan in the 2013 Champions Trophy and the duo never looked back since then. The two veterans complement each other brilliantly and their numbers tell the entire story. While Shikhar likes to attack bowlers from the outset, the current Indian captain likes to take his time before unleashing the onslaught.

Meanwhile, Team India have momentum in their favour as they convincingly defeated the Three Lions in the first two T20Is of the recently-concluded series before going down in the dead rubber. Also, the Men in Blue are likely to field a nearly full-strength XI in the series opener. Hence, the hosts must buckle up to bring their A-game out.