India vs South Africa: Shikhar Dhawan Achieves Rare Feat As Indian Opener

India opener Shikhar Dhawan is in great form in the ongoing six-match One-Day International (ODI) series against South Africa, which India is leading 3-1 at the moment. Dhawan has scored 35, 51, 76 and 109 in the first four ODIs respectively. In the fourth ODI, Dhawan en route his 13th ODI century notched a few records. The stylish left-hander, who appeared in his 100th ODI match, not only became the first Indian cricketer to reach the coveted three-figure mark in his 100th appearance but also the third Indian opener since Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar to hit a century against the mighty South Africans in their own backyard. Ganguly and Tendulkar have both scored fine centuries in the ODI series at the Wanderers in 2001.

Apart from this, Dhawan has scored more runs than his captain Virat Kohli after the 100th ODI game. While Kohli had 4107 runs, Dhawan has amassed 4309 runs.

Dhawan along with Kohli strung a massive 158-run partnership to steady India after an early blow. However, the opposition struck back with regular wickets to restrict the Kohli-led side to a competitive total of 289/7.

This partnership saw Kohli-Dhawan equal the most number of 100-run partnership for India, eight, for the second wicket, which Ganguly and Rahul Dravid had achieved earlier. Apart from them the Australian duo of Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting has 10 and Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara has 19.

Third in the list is Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who have brought up century stands for the second wicket on seven occasions.

After India posted 289/7, the South African chase came to a halt due to inclement weather conditions, which saw them chase a revised target of 202 in 28 overs. After the break, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller hit the ball cleanly and helped South Africa register a five-wicket victory.

While Klaasen, adjudged man of the match, remained unbeaten on 43, Andile Phehlukwayo's five-ball 23 helped South Africa maintain their unbeaten 'Pink ODI' streak.

The fifth ODI will be held on February 16 at Port Elizabeth.