Clinical India on cusp of big win at Chepauk
After Pant, Gill centuries, Ashwin’s triple strikes dent Bangladesh to 158/4 in 515-run chase
Senior Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma became the second most successful opening pair for Men-in-Blue in the limited overs game on Monday, during the fourth One Day International (ODI) match between India and West Indies.
Rohit and Dhawan have scored 3986 runs from 87 innings at an average of 46.11 while opening the batting for India. The duo of Dhawan and Rohit is now only behind Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. Tendulkar and Ganguly have as an opening pair made 6609 runs for India in the limited overs game in 136 innings at an average of 49.32. While Ganguly and Tendulkar’s highest partnership score is 258, Rohit and Dhawan’s highest first wicket partnership stand is of 210 runs.
Before the start of Monday’s game, Rohit and Dhawan needed just five runs to overtake Virender Sehwag and Tendulkar — 3919 runs in 93 innings. The duo surpassed Tendulkar and Sehwag’s record in the opening over at the Brabourne Stadium.
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Ahead of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2019, India arguably has the best ODI top order in the form of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. However, India’s middle order woes is worrisome.
Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Ambati Rayudu has been identified as the perfect batsman for number four slot for the time being.
Speaking to media at the start of the series, Rayudu said, “Obviously it’s great that the top-3 are doing so well for India. It’s a challenge for the middle order to always be ready to get in and bat whenever needed. I am sure everybody are up for it, everybody knows the situation.”
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma, who is also fondly known as ‘Hitman’ among his fans, also managed to register 1000 runs against West Indies.
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