Gill and Dhawan’s brilliant partnership drove India home in the 1st ODI against Zimbabwe.
Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill have been brilliant at the top for Team India in the 50-over format. Since opening the batting together for the first time in the ODI leg of the Caribbean tour, the duo has put on three-century stands in four innings.
The most recent century stand for the first wicket came on Thursday (August 18) in the 1st ODI against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club which helped the Indian team to thrash the home team by 10 wickets with more than 19 overs to spare.
After winning the toss and electing to bowl first, the Indian bowlers, on the back of Deepak Chahar's sensational comeback, which saw him take three wickets in seven overs while only conceding 27 runs, as well as Prasidh Krishna, and Akshar Patel's three-wicket hauls, restricted the Zimbabwean team to just 189/10 in 40.3 overs.
The chase couldn’t have been more in control as openers Dhawan (81*) and Gill (82*) scored big fifties to give India a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.
The southpaw remarked after the game that he enjoys batting with youngster Shubman Gill and added that batting with Gill makes him feel young.
“I am enjoying batting with the youngster (Gill) and I feel like a youngster too," Dhawan said in a post-match conversation with the local broadcaster.
“I enjoyed the consistency from West Indies," he added.
The 36-year-old also praised his opening partner for his consistency.
“I knew that once I was set, I would go after the bowlers. I wanted to rotate the strike as well and then accelerate. My rhythm with Gill has settled nicely. The way he bats and times the ball is lovely to watch. He has shown the consistency in converting fifties into bigger fifties," Dhawan said.
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On being asked about a few good catches he took in the slip cordon, Shikhar said, “I enjoy (catching in the slips) and it has become easy with experience,"
Additionally, he lauded Deepak Chahar, whose magnificent opening spell gave India the upper hand.
“Our bowling unit did well and it was nice to see Deepak Chahar come back from injury and pick up three wickets. I am sure he would be feeling confident as well," he said.
The second ODI of the series will be played at the same venue on Saturday (August 20).
(NEWS18 INPUTS)