India have been beaten by 31 runs in the first ODI against South Africa on Wednesday. However, Shikhar Dhawan came back as though he had never been away; as though he had always been there, like an invisible shadow.
Shikhar Dhawan shrugged off his poor form and made a heroic comeback in the opening ODI of the three-match series against South Africa. Playing his first international game since July, Dhawan hit 79 off 84. Playing his first international game after over six months, India opener Shikhar Dhawan dazzled with the bat and emerged as the leading run-scorer from the Indian camp.
The left-handed batsman kept the scorecard ticking and hit 79 off 84 balls, striking at 94.05, before being bowled by Keshav Maharaj. En route his splendid knock, Dhawan leapfrogged Australia great Matthew Hayden, Joe Root and Kane Williamson in the list of highest run-getters in ODIs.
The Indian opener presently sits at the 58th spot in the overall list and needs exactly 500 more ODI runs to break into the top 50. The elite list is topped by Sachin Tendulkar, who piled up 18,426 runs in 462 ODIs. “We had a good start and I feel the wicket was slow, it was offering a bit of turn as well. So, when you are chasing 300 runs, when the middle-order comes to bat, it is not easy to play shots,” Dhawan said at the virtual post-match press conference.