Analysis
3 times India missed Shikhar Dhawan in a big knockout game
Shikhar Dhawan has turned 37 today. The Southpaw is a nightmare for bowlers when on song. Dhawan is one of the most selfless batters one could ever see and always plays for the team. The Indian batter last played a match for India more than 15 months back. Since then, India seemed to have moved on from him, as they got a very good batter like Shubman Gill, who has been able to establish himself as a formidable batter in the Indian lineup in limited-overs cricket.
Particularly in ODIs, Gill has all but sealed his spot in the XI with his incredible performances. It has shut down the chance of Dhawan making a comeback for India in the format. In T20Is, India has believed in younger players doing the job, which has forced the senior players to remain out of the XI. To date, Dhawan has the best average for a batter in the big tournaments arranged by the apex board in ODIs. He averaged 65.15 in the Champions Trophy and the ODI World Cup.
Here are the three instances where India missed him in a big knockout game.
3. T20 World Cup 2022 Semifinal
T20 WC 2022 (Source: Twitter)
India lost the match after managing to score only 169 runs on the board. On a fresh surface like the one in Adelaide, where the batters found it easy with every passing over to bat, India struggled to score runs early in their innings. If not for the finish from Hardik Pandya, things were going to be worse for India. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli batted slowly in the innings, as they could not quite time the ball well. India needed someone to step up to the top.
KL Rahul failed in his job as well. India missed the services of Dhawan in the match, as they needed someone to attack at the top. Dhawan with his ability to take on the bowlers at the beginning of the match would have had an impact against England. Even in the middle overs, he could have used his sweep shots against Adil Rashid to disturb his rhythm, which was not possible from the duo of Virat and Rohit. A score of 169 could have been better, to pose a serious challenge to England.
2. ODI World Cup Semifinal 2019
ODI WC 2019 (Source: Twitter)
It was one of the biggest losses for India in the 21st century. The Indian viewers were so hurt by the loss of the team, as it was not expected for India to lose to a side like New Zealand. India dominated the group stage of the tournament by staying at the top. On the other hand, New Zealand barely managed to enter the semifinal of the tournament. India was termed the favourite to win the match. At the halfway mark, India seemed good to make it to the final.
India restricted New Zealand to a score of 241. The target was not very difficult. But the Kiwi bowlers delivered their career-best spell in the semifinal. The Indian top-order batters fell like a pack of cards. Matt Henry and Trent Boult reduced India to 5/3 in no time. India missed Dhawan, who was in good form in the tournament but got ruled out due to an injury in the game against Australia. Despite the injury, Dhawan had scored a hundred in the tournament.
1. ODI World Cup Final 2023
2023 ODI WC (Source: Twitter)
The latest big loss of the Indian team has hurt them the most. In front of a packed house at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, India failed to win the ODI World Cup 2023 final against Australia. India managed to score only 240 runs in their 50 overs in the match. Shubman Gill was dismissed early in the innings, which set the tone for the match for the visiting side. from there, everything they touched seemed to turn gold on the big day.
Australia chased down the target with 6 wickets in hand. Dhawan was dearly missed by the Indian team. The Southpaw had a very good record against Australia. Given his record in the big tournaments, one would have expected him to perform well. Given the bad performance of Gill in the final, the thought process in hindsight would be about having an experienced batter in the squad, who could have helped the team to succeed on the big day with his batting.
