Twitter Reactions: Fans disheartened as Shikhar Dhawan falls three runs short of splendid ton

India’s stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan was denied his 18th ODI hundred by just three runs in the ongoing first match against West Indies at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad on Friday. Dhawan lost the toss to West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran, who invited India to bat first. But it is proving to be a poor decision for the hosts as India are looking strong to put a big total on the scoreboard. India are at 253/5 with Deepak Hooda and Axar Patel on the pitch.

Dhawan is leading the Indian team in the three-match ODI series as regular skipper Rohit Sharma is rested alongside key Indian players. He was part of the recent ODI series against England and started all three matches. But he managed to score only 41 runs and at a poor strike rate of 49.39. But today, he looked totally confident from the start when he smashed two back-to-back fours off Alzarri Joseph in the first over.

India aim for a big total as Shikhar Dhawan departs on 97 runs

The 36-year-old left-handed batter formed a brilliant 119-run opening partnership with Shubman Gill. He played the second fiddle role and allowed Gill to play more freely and aggressively. But after Gill’s unfortunate run-out in the 18th over, Dhawan took charge and gave Iyer time to settle in. He scored his 36th ODI fifty in 53 balls and then formed another big partnership of 94 runs with Iyer.

Here is how Twitter reacted to Dhawan’s innings

#ShikharDhawan #IND 7th captain this calendar year along with #Shubmangill put up a solid opening stand … but surprisingly later batters failed to build upon it#INDvWI #WIvIND#ODI

— Syed Yusuf Mehdi 🇮🇳 (@yusufmehdi) July 22, 2022

Fewest innings to 1000 ODI runs for India

24 – Virat Kohli
24 – Shikhar Dhawan
25 – Shreyas Iyer*
25 – Navjot Singh Sidhu
27 – KL Rahul

— * (@SI41__) July 22, 2022

End of a great knock from the captain Shikhar dhawan – 97 runs from 99 balls pic.twitter.com/Tt5vBM1CWV

— Cricket With Laresh (@Lareshhere) July 22, 2022

@BCCI aap ne @SDhawan25 ko t20i world cup 2021 se pahle shikhar dhawan sir ko sri Lanka ke tour pe captain bana ke bheja Or t20 World Cup se bahar kar diya.. Ab worl cup 2022 ke theek pahle wi ke tour pe captain banaya… Lekin is bar bahar nai karna plz 🙏🤲

— shivaji Rao singh Bundela (@Shivaji_52) July 22, 2022

#INDvWI
GIVING GOOD PERFORMANCE
AFTER BEING SELECTED
INDAN TEAM'S CAPTAIN.
IS RARE
BUT
RESPONSIBLE BATTINING OF
SHIKHAR DHAWAN
HAS RAISED EXPECTATIONS
OF FANS
IT WAS SAD
THAT HE COULD NOT COMPLETE
HIS CENTURY

— Vinaya Kant Rai (@VinayaKantRai2) July 22, 2022

Dhawan very unlucky

— Bahadur Meghwar🇵🇰 (@BahadurMeghwar) July 22, 2022

@SDhawan25 97(99) lekin 100 💔 nahi ho paya…!!

— shivaji Rao singh Bundela (@Shivaji_52) July 22, 2022

It's been the third time that Shikhar Dhawan has fallen in the nervous 90s since getting his last odi century back in 2019:-

96 vs Australia (2020)
98 vs England (2021)
97 vs West Indies (2022)

One must feel for this guy, the most underrated player now😢#INDvWI #ShikharDhawan pic.twitter.com/LCuswld0Wl

— Srinjoy Debnath (@srinjoy1845) July 22, 2022

Shikhar Dhawan – 97 vs WI

Before Today's match, The Last time in ODI an Indian Player Got out on '97' score is Gautam Gambhir (2011WC Final)#INDvWI

— 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒃𝒂𝒔 (@Shebas_10dulkar) July 22, 2022

feel bad whenever people write Gabbar is back, Shikhar Dhawan has gone nowhere. He is always in form. He is evergreen. pic.twitter.com/9MQXR8I3E4

— Roopam Anurag (@RoopamAnurag) July 22, 2022

Century missed by gabbar..
Just 3 runs short !
Well 97 captain ! #shikhardhawan #IndvsWI pic.twitter.com/NJqfQVc8VH

— Deevanshu Saxena (@CoolDeevanshu) July 22, 2022

Shikhar Dhawan missed out a well deserving hundred by just 3 runs, end of a great knock from the captain – 97 runs from 99 balls. pic.twitter.com/bfLIjIOQwM

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 22, 2022

He smashed a wonderful swipe-six off in-form spinner Gudakesh Motie to reach closer to a hundred. But Motie brilliantly kept the next delivery far wide and Dhawan went for another big shot and got caught by Sharmarh Brooks. He scored 97 runs off 99 balls with the help of ten fours and three sixes.

Despite losing both Gill, Dhawan, and the middle order, India are looking confident to score considering Hooda’s great form, who is currently playing on six runs (at the time of writing this article).