The murmurs of discontentment were growing louder by the passing day, but Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan decided enough was enough.
The Indian openers ended a mini-drought of runs in scintillating fashion with a giant tone-setting stand in the fourth ODI against Australia at Mohali on Sunday, 10 March.
Sharma and Dhawan shared a 193-run stand in 31 overs after India elected to bat on a flat track at the PCA Stadium – in the process levelling West Indian greats Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge as the pair with the third-most 100+ partnerships in One Day Internationals.
The Quint takes a look at the numbers from Sharma-Dhawan heroics at Mohali.
Only Behind SRT-Ganguly & Gilchrist-Hayden
That’s right. Only two opening pairs in the history of the one-day game stand ahead of India’s present occupants of the first wicket.
The run-fest at Mohali was the 15th instance of Sharma and Dhawan sharing a 100+ stand in ODIs, in what was their 100th innings opening the batting for India.
Despite recent question marks around them, the duo’s conversion rate – a century stand once every 6.7 innings – is the second-best for any pair with more than five 100+ partnerships for the first wicket in ODI history.
100+ Stands for the Opening Wicket
- Sachin Tendulkar-Sourav Ganguly: 21 in 136 inns (one in 6.47)
- Adam Gilchrist-Matthew Hayden: 16 in 114 inns (one in 7.12)
- Rohit Sharma-Shikhar Dhawan: 15 in 100 inns (one in 6.67)
- Desmond Haynes-Gordon Greenidge: 15 in 102 inns (one in 6.8)
- Virender Sehwag-Sachin Tendulkar: 12 in 93 inns (one in 7.75)
A Penchant for ‘Daddy’ Stands
The latest of the prolific pair’s associations was also the sixth time they shared a partnership in excess of 150 runs – that’s a stand of 150 or more once every 17 innings.
In that regard, Sharma and Dhawan are now joint-second in the world in ODIs, behind Tendulkar and Ganguly, and level with South Africa’s Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock.
Considering all wickets, the duo are tied-fourth in the format, with Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma (11) and Tillakeratne Dilshan-Kumar Sangakkara (7) slotting in between them and Tendulkar-Ganguly (12) at the top.
Rohit-Dhawan 150+ Stands in ODIs
- 176 vs Australia, Jaipur, October 2013
- 178 vs Australia, Nagpur, October 2013
- 174 vs Ireland, Hamilton, March 2015
- 210 vs Pakistan, Dubai, September 2018
- 154 vs New Zealand, Mount Maunganui, January 2019
- 193 vs Australia, Mohali, March 2019
Dhawan’s Career-Best
Shikhar Dhawan's 143 off 115 deliveries was his highest score in ODIs; he bettered the 137 he made against South Africa in the World Cup 2015 match in Melbourne.
When on 112, he also completed 10,000 runs in List A (one-day) cricket.
Rohit's Personal High
Individually speaking, Sharma may have missed out on the triple-figure landmark on Sunday as he fell for 95 – and watched his opening partner stroke his way to 143 – but there was a personal accomplishment for the Indian vice-captain.
During the course of his 92-ball stay, Sharma crossed 3000 runs in ODIs in India. His rate in getting to that mark is the joint-best for any batsman.
Fastest to 3000 ODI Runs at Home
- Hashim Amla: 57 innings
- Rohit Sharma: 57 innings
- Virat Kohli: 63 innings
- Sourav Ganguly: 69 innings
- Martun Guptill: 69 innings