Shikhar Dhawan’s batting climbed the Everest of expectations when he hit his maiden World Cup century (137) on Sunday. At the packed MCG as well as back home, the 29-year old has been hailed as the hero of India’s first win against South Africa in a World Cup.
“It is a fantastic feeling to get a 100 in your first World Cup,” said Dhawan. “But more than anything it gives me immense happiness that we beat South Africa for the first time in the World Cup. They are one of the best teams in the world and it gives you great satisfaction to beat the big sides in the competition.”
Heading into the World Cup, Shikhar Dhawan was under fire after a rough patch in the Test series.
“I have been waiting for this moment for the past three months. The support staff, captain and teammates have backed me and believed in my abilities,” he told bcci.tv.
Looking back at the time when runs had dried up for him, Dhawan said, “I tried my best to stay calm during that phase. I always had the belief that the tough days will be followed by good ones. I feel the calmness in my temperament has reflected in my batting.”
India had not put up such a fine all-round performance in a long time, and skipperMahendra Singh Dhoni could not help basking in the glory.
“More than just the result, it was how we played, back-to-back performances by both the bowling and batting units. It was a complete performance,” said Dhoni.
After a summer of discontent Down Under, the captain was happy that his team executed their plans to a T. “I can give fields to the fast bowlers. They are not bowling loose balls. They bowled tight lines and the batsmen had to play big shots to get runs. The amount of effort the fast bowlers are putting in the nets is beginning to show,” he said.
Dhoni also had a word of praise for his team’s ground fielding. “I am very pleased with the runouts. We usually see the oppositions taking on our fast bowlers in the deep. Mohit (Sharma) and Umesh (Yadav) are quite fast and have good arms.”sports
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Calmness during lean patch was the key, says Shikhar Dhawan
