On this day in 2019: Shikhar Dhawan guides India to a win over Australia
Shikhar Dhawan has always been among the runs when it comes to ICC tournaments and he came up with yet another special knock against Australia in 2019 on this day (June 9). India opted to bat first after winning the toss and all eyes were on Indian batting at the Oval in the 14th game of the ICC 2019 World Cup.
Dhawan and Rohit Sharma opened the batting and the duo stitched a 127-run partnership for the first wicket. Virat Kohli continued the assault from Rohit left after a 57-run knock while Dhawan was happy to find the boundaries from the other end. India had the momentum in their favour and created a lot of pressure in the Australian bowling line-up that looked like having no answers.
Dhawan reached a magnificent century at a good strike rate and set it up for a big finish at the back end. He was dismissed after a fabulous knock of 117 from 109 deliveries that had 16 fours. On the back of that, India posted a massive 352 on the board for the loss of five wickets in their 50 overs.
In reply, Australia lost their way after an excellent start from the top four and ended up short by 36 runs in the end. David Warner, Steve Smith and Alex Carey all got hot half-centuries, but none could go onto the three-figure mark. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah both picked up three-wicket hauls to help India register a memorable victory.
Dhawan was awarded the player of the match for the way he set up the innings for the likes of Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni to finish on a high. India qualified for the semi-finals by topping the league stages, however, could not get past New Zealand in the semifinals.
