Shikhar Dhawan could give India an improbable victory

Ahmednagar, India
March 16, 2013 6:56am CST
Do you think that Shikhar Dhawan has given India an outside chance of winning this Test too? After Australia scored more than 400 runs, it looked like the match could go to a draw. However, as he scored so speedily, that helped India score more runs in less time. If India plays attacking cricket like this, they could force a win in Mohali.
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7 responses
• India
18 Mar 13
An outside chance, Dhawan has given India every chance to win the third match which India did just few hours back. Now mission is to conquer Delhi and give Aussies a taste of themselves.
• Ahmednagar, India
19 Mar 13
I am sure that will happen. But why I said that he has given us an outside is because he batted so fast that the absence of the first day's play wasn't felt at all. However, the Indian batsmen brought themselves in trouble when they were required to score 45 runs in 15 overs and they were making a mess out of it. Anyways, they have won after all.
• Ahmednagar, India
20 Mar 13
Yes, they were going to win anyhow. But let's admit the fact that they were making a heavy weather of the chase. They should have easily got the 45 runs in 15 overs. Had they batted sensibly, they could have won even without losing Tendulkar. A lot of dot balls and maiden overs made life difficult for the batsmen. There was no need to take one risky single by Dhoni and Tendulkar. And finally looking for a similar one, Tendulkar had to go.
• India
19 Mar 13
That was never a problem. I knew India would win anyway how close the match may be. Now India can topple Australia in test match rankings. India should play very hard to earn a victory in Delhi.
@anil02 (24688)
• India
16 Mar 13
Very little chance of victory. Two day left and three inning to be played. Dhawan is doing great he can complete his double century.
• Ahmednagar, India
16 Mar 13
Who says there needs to be all the four innings to win a Test match? What happened in the second match? Only three innings were played and the match was over. If Dhawan bats like that tomorrow and India take lead and Indian bowlers perform better, we can still win this Test match.
1 person likes this
• Ahmednagar, India
17 Mar 13
That's not a problem. When India bats, the lead can be cut down and in fact India will get some lead until the afternoon session itself.
@anil02 (24688)
• India
16 Mar 13
yes no need to play all four innings. But Australia have lead of more than 100 runs.
@ajithlal (14716)
• India
18 Mar 13
I think Shikhar Dhawan is a very good player and should be given more chances. I think most probably he can score runs on test matches outside India also. I think Shikhar Dhawan also can play ODI since he scores runs very quickly.
• Ahmednagar, India
18 Mar 13
There is no doubt that he will get some chances in the future. However, it was really unfortunate we could not get to see him bat once again as he had bruised his hand while fielding. Otherwise, I don't think India would have been so deep in trouble while chasing.
• Hyderabad, India
16 Mar 13
We do certainly have an outside chance now. What an unbelievable display that was from Dhawan today. If he can continue at that rate tomorrow as well, it could turn the match on its head. I guess a lead of 100 or so day before/by tea and we can declare. This will also ensure that we don't put ourselves at risk being too optimistic as Australia will then have to spend one session to wipe out India's lead.
• Ahmednagar, India
17 Mar 13
As I mentioned above, unfortunately, he has been dismissed and it has given a big blow to India's chances. I was also thinking on the same terms as you. India should now target a lead of at least 100 or 130 runs and ask the Aussies to bat again. As Clarke wanted to attack the Indians with the last three overs on the first day of the second Test, Dhoni too should do like that. I guess a lead of 300 looks pretty much out of context here considering the fact that the scoring rate has declined, which is understandable. India should look to attack with at least with an hour's play today, irrespective of the lead. That will certainly demoralize the Aussies.
@sajujohn (1005)
• India
16 Mar 13
I think Shikhar Dhawan's innings definitely gave upper hand for team India in this test match. The run rate of India is above 5 and if they continue to score like this tomorrow also India can take a lead of around 300 and I think that would be enough to win this test match. Batting in the 5-th day will be difficult even though till now pitch doesn't supported the bowlers. I am sure Australia will be now looking to draw this test match. Indian bowlers have to do well to have a victory in this test match.
• Ahmednagar, India
17 Mar 13
Oh, now that I have seen the latest reports, Dhawan has been dismissed on 187 and that's why the run rate too has dropped. That should work in favor of the Aussies. The dismissal of Dhawan has put a break on the scoring rate and also many records that were on the line were also deprived of him. But whatever, I think, Aussies have a golden opportunity of drawing this Test. I don't think now India will be able to score any fast runs. This Test is certainly heading for a draw unless something special again happens from any Indian player.
• India
18 Mar 13
Yea why not, He just proved himself, just like commentators commented , he was hungry for runs because of his long waiting in the row. he has a great potential and just needs a platform to prove it . Lets hope he will do the same in next matches too.
• Ahmednagar, India
19 Mar 13
I just hope that he keeps playing the way he does. Because it is very difficult to continue with the way one starts off. Every great player has to go through a bad patch. I fear that doesn't happen to him, or even if it does, then that should be just a matter of time before he again comes to show how real a batsman he is.
• India
16 Mar 13
That was unbelievable stuff from Dhawan.After his fifty, he was attacking all bowlers .Till he crossed his hundred all shots were through the carpet.And after that fastest hundred, ti was shots everywhere.Looking at a scoring rate of 5 per over that too without involving Sehwag is something we never heard of.And considering this is his first innings in his dubt test, that makes it really big.I think if this partnership could stay for one more session, we should be into lead and guess a lead of 300 should be good enough to make a match out of this match.But then after Aussies scored 400,it was looking like a draw.But Dhawan's innings has just changed the things.Hope they could play like this tomorrow and declare with a lead of 300-350.I should also appreciate Vijay who held fort on other end.He did not lose concentration of Dhawan demolition.Another good thing about this test is contribution from Ishant Sharma.He did get 3 wickets and that should boost his confidence.Not sure Ojha was as effetive as Harbhajan.Ashwin was normal.But Jadeja is fast rising as well.He is enjoying hsi role and style.Well,not sure if we saw the new opening partnership for India from now on.Thanks!
• Ahmednagar, India
16 Mar 13
Unfortunately, there was no electricity here all day long and it was towards the end of play that I could switch the TV on. No matter, I will watch the highlights now Anyways, what you said is right. Dhawan didn't take any chance and played all cricketing shots. I just saw a glimpse of his batting and that is why I can say that. I also heard that he started hitting some lofted shots only after crossing his century. What you said is right about his batting. Without Sehwag, that could be the first time India scored at such a brisk space. But what you said about India taking that much lead sounds impractical to me. Taking a lead of at least 300 runs means India should score at least 700 odd runs. That would really not be possible on one day. This means India would need to score more than 400 runs in 90 overs tomorrow. Though I am uncertain of this, let's see how Dhawan plays tomorrow, how long he lasts and if India is able to retain wickets if it comes to playing some slog shots.