"Popped painkillers and scored 117" - Shikhar Dhawan picks his favorite knock in international cricket

Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan has picked the century he scored against Australia at The Oval in the 2019 ODI World Cup as his favorite knock in international cricket. The 38-year-old rated the knock highly because he fractured his thumb in his 20s and took painkillers to carry on batting.

Dhawan announced his retirement from international and domestic cricket through a social media post on his official handles on Saturday, August 24. The left-handed batter represented India in 34 Tests, 167 ODIs, and 68 T20Is.

During an interview with Hindustan Times, the batter was asked to pick his favorite international innings. Admitting that there are quite a few, he went for the ton he scored against Australia in the 2019 World Cup despite fracturing his thumb.

"I have a few favorite innings that are close to my heart, especially the 2019 World Cup. We were playing a match against Australia. I was batting on 25 when I broke my thumb. The ball came at 150 clicks and hit my here (pointing towards his left thumb). I popped painkillers and scored 117 from there," the 38-year-old said.

Incidentally, Dhawan's hundred in this match was his last three-figure score in international cricket. He scored 117 off 109 balls, hitting 16 fours as India beat Australia by 36 runs. The opener was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament.

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"Thankful to Dhoni for backing me" - Dhawan on his 2015 World Cup heroics

Known for his brilliance in ICC events, Dhawan was India's leading run-getter in the 2015 World Cup, with 412 runs from eight innings, which included two hundreds and a fifty. However, he was under pressure going into the tournament as he hadn't scored a lot of runs before the ICC event.

Dhawan thanked then-captain MS Dhoni for backing and persisting with him in the World Cup.

"The MCG one was also a very good knock of mine. More so because I wasn't scoring runs prior to it. I am thankful to Dhoni for backing me and persisted with me in the World Cup. I was always able to play well in ODIs, but the occasional dip in form is inevitable. That's when I scored those 137 runs. I like that one too," the retired cricket added.

The southpaw began his 2015 World Cup campaign with 73 against Pakistan in Adelaide and followed it up with 137 against South Africa in Melbourne. He also hit 100 off 85 against Ireland in Hamilton.