Shikhar Dhawan - the belligerent southpaw

Shikhar Dhawan breaks into a dance after winning the ICC Champions Trophy

He was the mirror-image of confidence of his statemate, as he butchered his way to a eye-catching debut hundred. He plundered the Aussie bowling and made a mince meat of them. It was not all. Records after records tumbled, as he marauded his way into the hapless Australian bowlers. It was a spectacle to behold, and even a die-hard Sehwag fan would admit that it was a knock worth of selection as one of the finest in recent history.

Even before this Test match, Dhawan was quite famous owing to his exploits in the IPL. Though he was not the best, he scored consistently for people to sit up and take notice. He was one of the successes in the 2012 edition, amassing 400-plus runs. His presence at the top was the only saving grace for the otherwise clueless Deccan Chargers.

Dhawan’s strength lies in the fact that he can time the ball to perfection. Though his batting might appear crude on the outset, you rarely witness a mistimed shot or a rash slog that is the general norm of this slam-bang era of cricket. Indian cricket has always been blessed with talent after talent in the batting department. Right from the class of Vijay Manjrekar to the ‘see-the-ball, hit-the-ball” impeccable timing of Sehwag, we have seen it all. But what set Dhawan apart from all these players, is the ability to wait and play the ball close to his body. Of all his dismissals in the recent past, there aren’t many occasions when he was out caught behind. He anticipates the ball like the tiger that is on the crouch to pounce on its prey, but is guarded enough to recognize the good ones. That is where he excels from the rest.

Apart from that, he has the ability to switch gears at will. Analysing all his innings in the Champions Trophy, his ability to adapt to the situation would be transparent as he can go after the bowling or can play the role of a sheet anchor to perfection. It is frankly a natural talent, one that could help him in the long run. Added to that, he has perfected all the shots in the playing manual that has helped him in being multi-dimensional.

His ability to play positive cricket has greatly influenced the team and the crowds as he demonstrated against the pace-filled South Africans in hostile conditions. He was not afraid to take them on and proved that one could score heavily with meticulous timing and proper cricketing shots. He followed it up with a mature century against West Indies and the manner in which he negated the effect of Sunil Narine, the number one bowler in the ODIs demonstrated his ability to bide his time for the right kind of deliveries to pick and score.

Dhawan might have had a fabulous start to his career, but to keep it going, a lot of focus is the key requirement. He ought to be circumspect and should not be carried away by the initial success. A lot of players have been blown away by the expectations from the fans. He should learn to treat both success and failure with equanimity.

“I would like to dedicate my performance (Golden Bat) to the people who have lost their lives back home due to the flood. My prayers are with them.” –Shikhar Dhawan

His generous gesture towards the flood victims has won a lot of hearts back home, especially since, not many cricketers mentioned about the floods in the recently concluded Champions Trophy. His attitude has matured and his game is on a different level altogether. If he keeps going about his job in the same way in the upcoming years, then like his fans, we could twirl our moustaches just the way he does and proudly acclaim that Shikhar Dhawan da jawab nahi!