SHIKHAR DHAWAN: A GIFTED STROKEMAKER

Many cricket analysts have seen this fellow playing his strokes in all parts of the ground with ease says that this man is a gifted stroke maker of the modern game of cricket. "A sort of upper cut he plays to hit the ball for maximum over covers",says Alan Wilkins, famous cricket analyst.  The kind of performances that Dhawan has shown since his phenomenal debut against Australia in tests, he seems to playing from years. Now in Champions trophy as well, two big TON's to start off with and a well made, handy 48 against Pakistan has said a lot about this young lad.

Dhawan Records hat-trick of international centuries

Shikhar Dhawan's dream run at the international level continued as he scored his second consecutive ODI century, thus making it a hat-trick of hundreds for India following his smashing 187 on Test debut against Australia in March. On return to the ODI side for nearly two years, Dhawan scored a stroke-filled 114 against South Africa in Cardiff last Thursday and on Tuesday at The Oval he smashed an unbeaten 102 off 107 balls to guide India to an eight-wicket win over West Indies that took them into the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy.

The left-hander now averages a massive 201.50 across Tests and ODIs in 2013, with each of his three trips to the crease for India resulting in centuries. Those are staggering numbers and highlight the golden touch that Dhawan is in this season.

                              

Dhawan, 27, burst into the limelight after that fantastic debut in Mohali where he smashed the Aussie bowlers for the fastest century on Test debut and the man with the twirling moustache and tattooed biceps has now stamped his authority in the 50-over format with two magnificent tons. His irresistible form has made heads turn and people take notice, but it has not been an easy ride to the top for Dhawan.

On his ODI debut against Australia in 2010, Dhawan was bowled off the second ball faced. He got more chances in the West Indies following India's 2011 World Cup triumph and started off well with a fifty but then fell cheaply in the next three innings and lost his place. With Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir struggling with form and Sachin Tendulkar retiring from ODIs, Dhawan was called up after his Test debut and a solid IPL 6 and has shown that there is life after the trio and that he is ready to take the responsibility.

While it would be too early to term Dhawan as replacement for Sehwag or Gambhir just yet, the left-hander looks capable of doing the job well in the near future.. He scores runs at a brisk pace, plays shots all around the ground and has the ability to negotiate the pace bowlers easily, something which India have been deprived of in the recent past. Perhaps most importantly, he plays the horizontal bat shots - the cut and pull very well, which augurs well for India with an eye on the 2015 World Cup in Australia.

For the last two years India have struggled as both Gambhir and Sehwag failed to provide a solid partnership in either Tests or ODIs, but now Dhawan has the ability to play in a courageous fashion as the duo used to play in their prime. And, in these three innings, he has given India rousing starts. At Mohali, he dominated an opening stand of 289 in 59.5 overs with Murali Vijay; in Cardiff he and Rohit Sharma put on 126; and at The Oval Dhawan and Rohit added 101. This is promising stuff.

Dhawan is still new on the international stage to be compared with the likes of Sehwag or Gambhir but he is technically sound and has a good temperament - the abilities required to succeed at the top level.

With back-to-back centuries in the Champions Trophy, Dhawan has clearly made a statement and sent the message loud that he is here to stay. The Delhi left-hander will be up against dangerous Pakistan attack next and will be hoping to help his team get one over their arch rivals as well.

Overall Carrier record:

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	1	1	0	187	187	187.00	174	107.47	1	0	33	2	0	0
ODIs	7	7	1	285	114	47.50	324	87.96	2	1	26	3	1	0
T20Is	1	1	0	5	5	5.00	11	45.45	0	0	0	0	0	0
First-class	82	134	9	5866	224	46.92			17	24			83	0
List A	104	103	14	4082	155*	45.86			12	21			51	0
Twenty20	88	87	11	2407	95*	31.67	2025	118.86	0	19	260	51	37	0

Making up for lost time

India's fearless opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan is doing the unthinkable at the Champions Trophy -- making fans forget Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.

Those three were the pillars of Indian batting till the recent past with Tendulkar the world's leading scorer and century-maker in both Tests and one-day cricket.

Only Tendulkar among them has retired from one-day and Twenty20 cricket but fans are already toasting the next generation of Indian cricketers led by Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja.

Dhawan, the 27-year-old left-hander from Delhi, has been the star of the eight-nation tournament with back-to-back centuries that eased the World Cup champions into the semifinals.

The moustache-twirling opener smashed 114 off 94 balls, with 12 boundaries and a six, in the opening match against a South African attack admittedly missing the world's premier fast bowler Dale Steyn.

Dhawan then plundered an unbeaten 102 off 107 balls against the West Indies in gloomy weather at the Oval on Tuesday, reaching three-figures with a six off Dwayne Bravo over third man. It was his third successive international century, having made a spectacular 187 off 174 balls against Australia on his Test debut in Mohali in March.

"This boy is such an amazing batsman, I am sure he is here to stay," India's former World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev said.

"No one here in England is talking about the past... no one has so far asked about Sachin, Sehwag or Gambhir. Everyone is just talking about Shikhar Dhawan and his batting.

"That is a good sign for Indian cricket. Many young players are already taking over from the seniors. The change is going smoothly."

Even rival players have been impressed. South African captain AB de Villiers, who has watched Dhawan closely in the Indian Premier League, said he was not surprised at his success.

"He has got the whole package and I am sure he'll get better as his career goes along," said de Villiers. "He is a good player."

Dhawan's talent was evident way back in 2004 during the under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh when he was named the player of the tournament after scoring 505 runs with three centuries. Dhawan played first-class cricket for nine years under the shadow of his Delhi team-mates Sehwag and Gambhir, until luck finally smiled on him in March. With both the senior pros dropped due to form, the selectors brought in Dhawan for the third Test against the Australians in Mohali to partner Murali Vijay at the top of the order.

Dhawan seized the opportunity by smashing the fastest Test century by a debutant -- his 100 coming off just 85 balls -- and went on to hit 33 boundaries and two sixes. Unfortunately, he fractured his left hand while fielding in that match and missed the next Test on his home ground in Delhi which India won to complete a 4-0 whitewash. Dhawan said his first-class experience -- 5,866 runs in 82 matches with 17 centuries -- stood him in good stead. "I spent so many years in domestic cricket that I felt confident on my Test debut," he said. "And words of encouragement from Sehwag, who asked me to stick to my strengths, helped a great deal." Asked by a reporter recently how he managed to remain cheerful at the crease, Dhawan said: "Enjoy watching my partner's batting. Enjoy running between the wickets. Enjoy taking the pressure."

Baton passes from Sehwag to Dhawan

India have been blessed with some attacking openers over the last three decades. If Krishnamachari Srikkanth started the trend in the 1980s with his swashbuckling style, it was Virender Sehwag who took over the mantle in the 2000s. And now, the baton has passed to Shikhar Dhawan . Dhawan still has some distance to go before he can be compared with Sehwag, but there's no denying the fact that he is on his way. After a record-breaking Test debut against Australia, he has now scored two back-to-back centuries in the Champions Trophy, and in both cases, it was less than run-a-ball.