Shikhar Dhawan!!!

[sandeep]

5 minutes ago, Ultimate_Game said:

I cannot ignore Dhawan's clutch gene anymore. As an example everybody and his dog agree that ABDV and Amla are "great" batsmen but if you have to select a team for a must win match, I would prefer someone like Dhawan over them. Dhawan is a beast in ICC tourneys and he doesn't bash minnows. He smashes the big boys for fun in the bigger tourneys.

 

I want Sehwag in there with instructions to go after the bowling with Dhawan as his partner. I would have Kohli in at 3 and Tendulkar at 4 - revised my original batting order as Kohli is a beast at 3 and I wouldn't play him anywhere else. Gambhir is the backup opener or backup no. 3 batsman and unfortunately Ganguly doesn't make the cut.

Kohli is a "beast" at #3 and you don't want to dislodge him.   What are Kohli's Knockout numbers again?  

 

Too bad for Tendulkar that he's not beastly enough for you to easily dislodge him from his preferred and most effective batting position.  Come on now.  Its a copout to switch Tendy to #4 in ODIs.  You can't do that.  Even in an all-time World XI.  Forget about India.

[Gambit]

1 minute ago, Ultimate_Game said:

As uspected Dhawan is a beast against big boys  And his 3 matches in "knockout" matches is too small a sample size. But I would argue in a tourney like CT, every match is a knockout match. There are no freebies and margin of error is extremely small as Aus and SA can vouch for it. Unlike WC where you can sleep-walk through most of the group matches where a few losses don't have an impact, every match in CT counts.

What do you make of Tendulkar's sample size of 13 innings at an average of 48 against non-minnows in QFs, SFs and finals for someone perceived not be a big game player? 

[Gambit]

7 minutes ago, Ultimate_Game said:

I cannot ignore Dhawan's clutch gene anymore. As an example everybody and his dog agree that ABDV and Amla are "great" batsmen but if you have to select a team for a must win match, I would prefer someone like Dhawan over them. Dhawan is a beast in ICC tourneys and he doesn't bash minnows. He smashes the big boys for fun in the bigger tourneys.

 

I want Sehwag in there with instructions to go after the bowling with Dhawan as his partner. I would have Kohli in at 3 and Tendulkar at 4 - revised my original batting order as Kohli is a beast at 3 and I wouldn't play him anywhere else. Gambhir is the backup opener or backup no. 3 batsman and unfortunately Ganguly doesn't make the cut.

LOL Tendulkar at 4 is the reason for India's showing at the 1999 and 2007 world cups. He is the most prolific WC opener in history.

[Ultimate_Game]

3 minutes ago, sandeep said:

Kohli is a "beast" at #3 and you don't want to dislodge him.   What are Kohli's Knockout numbers again?  

 

Too bad for Tendulkar that he's not beastly enough for you to easily dislodge him from his preferred and most effective batting position.  Come on now.  Its a copout to switch Tendy to #4 in ODIs.  You can't do that.  Even in an all-time World XI.  Forget about India.

Kohli has improved every year and I back him to succeed in knockouts. He's the best no.3 batsman in shorter formats we ever had who can finish off a chase on his own.

 

2 minutes ago, Gambit said:

What do you make of Tendulkar's sample size of 13 innings at an average of 48 against non-minnows in QFs, SFs and finals for someone perceived not be a big game player? 

That's the reason I want him in the team.

 

1 minute ago, Gambit said:

LOL Tendulkar at 4 is the reason for India's showing at the 1999 and 2007 world cups. He is the most prolific WC opener in history.

The reason that experiment didn't work was coz we had likes of Uthappa opening  But with likes of Sehwag, Dhawan and Kohli batting up Tendulkar would be great to have at 4. The reasons I would prefer Sehwag and Dhawan up the order is...

 

1. Left-right combo as bowlers do struggle with their lines when they have to adjust to left and right handed batsman. And with likes of Sehwag and Dhawan at the top, a loose delivery would mean a boundary.

 

2. Sehwag's job would be to go after the bowling, i.e. a quickfire 30 or 40 which gives the team a quick start others can build on. Don't want to use Tendulkar in that role.

[Ultimate_Game]

1 minute ago, sarchasm said:

Passage of time has definitely muddled the memory of many about how supreme Sachin was as an opener. Or may be just seduced by the latest seasonal flavor.

TBH I've never seen a player who has been so consistent on the big stage. Even in u-19 WC Dhawan was the top scorer for India with 3 100s  You simply cannot leave such a batsman out of the team, and he can't bat at any position other than as an opener.

[sandeep]

5 minutes ago, Ultimate_Game said:

Kohli has improved every year and I back him to succeed in knockouts. He's the best no.3 batsman in shorter formats we ever had who can finish off a chase on his own.

 

That's the reason I want him in the team.

 

The reason that experiment didn't work was coz we had likes of Uthappa opening  But with likes of Sehwag, Dhawan and Kohli batting up Tendulkar would be great to have at 4. The reasons I would prefer Sehwag and Dhawan up the order is...

 

1. Left-right combo as bowlers do struggle with their lines when they have to adjust to left and right handed batsman. And with likes of Sehwag and Dhawan at the top, a loose delivery would mean a boundary.

 

2. Sehwag's job would be to go after the bowling, i.e. a quickfire 30 or 40 which gives the team a quick start others can build on. Don't want to use Tendulkar in that role.

Why not put Sehwag at #4 then?  Why make the greatest ODI opener ever go down the order?  

 

Tendy

Veeru

Gambo

Kohli

 

Hmm something familiar about that batting order.  Wait a minute.  Isn't that the batting unit that won us a World Cup?

 

 

 

 

[Ultimate_Game]

6 minutes ago, sandeep said:

Why not put Sehwag at #4 then?  Why make the greatest ODI opener ever go down the order?  

 

Tendy

Veeru

Gambo

Kohli

 

Hmm something familiar about that batting order.  Wait a minute.  Isn't that the batting unit that won us a World Cup?

 

 

 

 

I wouldn't put Sehwag at 4 coz his game is made for exploiting PP overs. We need someone like him to take on opposing bowlers and give us a quick start. The above lineup is fine but I want to have Dhawan in there coz of his performances in ICC tourneys and the only way I can do so is pushing Tendulkar down the order  

 

Edit: It's a challenge to fit all the players in. I absolutely love Gambhir and I can't make room for him as well. Same for Ganguly. Just shows you how good we've been on the batting side of things. If we faced similar dilemma on the bowling side then we would've been world beaters for ages  

Edited June 12, 2017 by Ultimate_Game

[Ultimate_Game]

1 minute ago, sarchasm said:

As a matter of fact, Dhawan SIMPLY won't feature in India's best ever ODI XI. Might get there one day but not probable.

For bilateral series he won't. But I would make an exception for him for ICC tourneys  

 

I mean if you look at Dhawan's stats in isolation they show a good batsman but that's about it. Likes of ABDV and Amla would be in a different class altogether and for a bilateral odi series i would pick both of them over Dhawan. But when it comes down to ICC tourneys I would actually pick Dhawan over both of them based on Dhawan's track record in ICC tourneys right from his u-19 days.

 

Sometimes stats don't tell the complete story and Dhawan is the perfect example for the argument. Lot of people call him hack and would prefer Rohit over him but when it comes to ICC tourneys he's a different beast altogether. There are few sportsmen who raise their game on the big stage. Some folks call it 'clutchess factor', others call it 'clutch gene' and some others term it 'ability to soak pressure'. No matter what it is, it's more than clear Dhawan has it.

[Ultimate_Game]

2 minutes ago, sarchasm said:

India's best ODI XI would not be for bilaterals, but elite events. Currently Dhavan would lay a claim in India's third XI.

You're not being fair to Shikhar "Big Match" Dhawan  

[CG]

Dhawan has been excellent in big matches like Delhi team mate Gambhir used to.

[Ultimate_Game]

1 minute ago, CG said:

Dhawan has been excellent in big matches like Delhi team mate Gambhir used to.

Yup. Both top both top blokes with penchant for big games  

[ThePhenomenal1]

Dhawan in the CT17 so far including warmups: 

vs NZ: 40

vs Bangladesh: 60 odd

vs Pak: 50+

vs SL: 100+

vs SA: 50+

[sandeep]

28 minutes ago, ThePhenomenal1 said:

Dhawan in the CT17 so far including warmups: 

vs NZ: 40

vs Bangladesh: 60 odd

vs Pak: 50+

vs SL: 100+

vs SA: 50+

My favorite in all this is Dhawan using the IPL as a warmup for his Team India stint.  

[ThePhenomenal1]

10 minutes ago, sandeep said:

My favorite in all this is Dhawan using the IPL as a warmup for his Team India stint.  

Definitely as not all of his knocks were with a high strike rate and he was settling in to form. Had a good IPL.

[gattaca]

Best Indian opener in Odis after viru.actually he is more consistent than viru.

Edited June 15, 2017 by gattaca

[Tibarn]

Just posted this in the match thread, updating it and using it as a countdown for Shikhar's CT records

 

If Shikhar gets a ton today, he will have the most all-time centuries in the Champions Trophy. 

 

He needs 127 more runs to become the all time leading scorer at the CT.

 

 Shikhar currently averages 95 runs at a 102 SR in CTs.

[Cricketics]

  Shakeit DhanDhanaDhan  

[express bowling]

Dhawan has significantly improved his ability to play the short ball.

 

he is rolling his wrists over while pulling and also getting in a good position before playing the shot.

 

His cut was always on the better side but he is playing it even better now, especially off really quick bouncing balls.

[Tibarn]

Shikhar ends the day 3 runs behind Sangakkara for 3rd in CT runs, in less than half the innings.  He would need 112 runs in the Final vs Padosis to clinch the top run getter in CTs all time.

[ThePhenomenal1]

Another good performance in a crunch game. Brilliant.