'Who wants ball love bite like this?' - Shikhar Dhawan shares an image of his sore arm on Instagram

With the help of a brilliant partnership from Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill, India registered their win by 10 wickets in the first ODI of the series against Zimbabwe. The left-handed batter remained unbeaten on 81 while his partner scored an unbeaten 82 off 72 balls. The 36-year-old hit nine boundaries but also copped a few blows in the process.

He took to Instagram to share a picture of him saying, “Who wants ball love bite like this?” The picture showed him having a sore arm but it didn’t look like the batter was injured. For precaution, he might get benched in the second ODI but it looks very unlikely at the moment.

Dhawan has been terrific for India in the One Day Internationals and the first ODI on Thursday (August 18) was another such example of his class. He has the ability to accelerate the innings and also bat cautiously. He played the role of an anchor as Shubman Gill was playing aggressive cricket. The role changes when he’s playing with Rohit as the Indian captain often takes time to settle down in an ODI.

In the post-match press conference, the veteran was full of praise for his new opening partner. Speaking about Gill, Dhawan said, “Shubman Gill is a tremendous batter and it’s lovely to watch him from the other end. The way he has come in and scored runs consistently, converting starts into big fifties is amazing.”

The return of KL Rahul and Deepak Chahar in the Indian squad

Deepak Chahar with his three wickets was the Player of the Match on his return to the Indian team. He wrecked the top order of the Zimbabwe squad and picked up the wickets of Innocent Kaia, Tadiwanashe Marumani, and Wesley Madhevere. He gave away just 27 runs in his seven overs and with that, he made his grand return to the Indian team. 

KL Rahul, the captain of the tour, didn’t get a chance to bat, however. Interestingly, he didn’t meddle with the opening pair of Gill and Dhawan, who were very successful against the West Indies. He chose to bat in the middle order and that can be an indication of how things can be once Rohit Sharma returns.

Rahul, in the post-match press conference, said that the bowlers were disciplined with the line and length and that was the reason for getting quick wickets. He also expressed his joy of returning to the Indian team. “For a few of us, it is great to be back in the Indian dressing room. As a team we have been in good form, good to see that all of us are getting enough game time. Feels good to be out there,” said the 30-year-old.