Twitter Reactions: Shikhar Dhawan makes a comeback in the whites with a splendid ton
He is batting on 150 from 147 balls, has stroked 23 boundaries in his knock thus far.
He hadn’t played a Test match since September of 2016, the only game he played in the 13 Test home season was the second match against New Zealand where he scored 18 runs in two innings. The team didn’t summon him despite recovering from the injury and Shikhar Dhawan is in Sri Lanka and at Galle the place where he scored his last Test hundred; the only in last 9 innings.
On the first morning of the Galle Test probably the best time to bat in the match, Virat Kohli won the toss and the left-hander was out to open the innings with a new partner, Abhinav Mukund; the 9th pair in last two years. Dhawan gave India a positive start showing the intent to get runs and clean runs. Mukund also hit a couple of cracking shots but was on his way back for 12 from 26.
Dhawan, on the other hand, played the ball on the up easing into his shots, hitting the ball down the ground with minimal risk. He used his feet once the spinners were introduced to get the boundaries. When the faster bowlers tried to test him with the short ones he hung on the back foot and pulled them to the boundary.
He cut, he sliced, he drove and he smashed displaying a wide array of shots to get his runs against all the bowlers around the park. The Lankans gave him a life on 31; he had hit five boundaries till then and showed no intentions of slowing down.
In the 22nd over, he drove Dilruwan Perera to get to his half century from 62 balls; it was his first since July 2016. Sri Lankan skipper Rangana Herath brought himself into the attack to break the nourishing partnership for the second wicket between Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara but couldn’t force the duo into making a mistake.
Shikhar continued to pick the gaps beautifully and the bowlers straying in line just helped him thrash them with disdain. Perera, Pradeep, Herath and Lahiru Kumar all the four bowlers couldn’t trouble him and on the 110th ball of his inning, he got to his 5th Test century and a splendid one on comeback.
As I write about his hundred he has got to the 150, from 147 balls he has stroked 23 boundaries in his knock thus far and if he keeps going at this pace has a really good chance of scoring a triple ton by the end of the day. Team India has put on 242 runs on the board in 48 overs and is all set for a massive first innings total.
Here is how Twitterati congratulated Dhawan for his effort
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