Shikhar Dhawan continued his purple patch in the coveted ICC Champions Trophy 2017 event as the Delhi dasher hit his 10th one-day international hundred against Sri Lanka at Kennington Oval, London. With this magnificent hundred, the 31-year old brought up his third hundred in the competition and joined the elite list of cricketers, which includes the likes of Herschelle Gibbs, Sourav Ganguly and Chris Gayle. The southpaw smashed two centuries in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy which was also held in England.
After winning the mega game against Pakistan last Sunday by a big margin, the Men in Blue appeared clear favourites to lift the ICC trophy for the second time in a row. Invited to bat first by Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews on Thursday, Indian openers went straight down to the business once again in the Group B fixture against the Islanders.
The ever-reliable pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma notched up another century partnership of the tournament and gave the defending champions a solid platform. However, India lost Rohit and Kohli in quick succession in the middle overs courtesy some tidy line and length from the Lankan seamers.
But, it was Dhawan who played the sheet anchor role to perfection and held one end comfortably to give India the upper hand in the crucial contest. Fondly called as ‘Gabbar’, the Delhi batsman took 112 deliveries to reach the three-figure mark. He scored a brilliant 125 runs off 128 deliveries that included 15 fours and one maximum. Dhawan was caught at long-on by Kusal Mendis, bowled by Lasith Malinga.
He also had a fine outing with the bat in the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League where he ended as third highest run-getter in the tournament behind David Warner and Gautam Gambhir.
