Shikhar Dhawan's Unbeaten 150 Augurs Well for Team India
Shikhar Dhawan was in pugnacious mood after India won the toss and decided to bat versus Bangladesh.
Enjoying a life on 73, India opener Shikhar Dhawan made a strong comeback with a swashbuckling unbeaten 150 - his third Test century - to guide India to 239 for no loss at the end of Day 1 after rain forced early lunch on the opening day of the one-off Test against Bangladesh in Fatullah on Wednesday. (Blog | Scorecard)
On a perfect batting track at Fatullah's Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, left-handed Dhawan and right-handed Murali Vijay (89 batting, his 11th Test half-century) barely broke a sweat against the home team's limited bowling resources to score at a brisk rate and lay foundation for a big total.
The 29-year-old southpaw peppered the boundaries on both the sides with some crisp drives and hit 12 fours in his 71-ball stay in the first session. When rain stopped play after 23.3 overs, Dhawan was batting on 74 and Vijay on 33.
Dhawan made a breezy return to India's Test team, slamming his third fifty off 47 balls and studded it with 10 boundaries.
Dhawan, of course, was extremely lucky after being dropped at short mid-wicket off left-arm spinner Taijul Islam. Shuvagata Hom dived to take a fairly simple catch, but the ball popped out as his elbow hit the ground. Dhawan was on 73.
Dhawan, who had shot to fame with the fastest hundred on Test debut, had been in the midst of a severe form slump. He was axed in the final Test against Australia earlier this year. His replacement Lokesh Rahul seemed set for a long run after his maiden ton but a bout of dengue meant Dhawan got another opportunity to regain his place at the top of the order.
Dhawan grabbed his chance versus Bangladesh and played an innings he is known for. His century came off 101 balls and contained 16 fours. His last three-figure score, a fluent 115, had come against New Zealand in February 2014.