IND vs SA Live: Shikhar Dhawan hits a wonderful half-century

IND vs SA Live: Shikhar Dhawan’s 50 causes trouble for selectors – Shikhar Dhawan keeps making life difficult for selectors. The South Africa tour would have been the beginning of a transition for Dhawan but he smashed an 84-ball 79 in the 1st ODI against South Africa at Boland Park on Wednesday. With Ishan Kishan and Prithvi Shaw and Ruturaj Gaikwad waiting for their chances, selectors and India team management will have a hard time dropping Dhawan. Follow India vs South Africa Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.

IND vs SA Live: Shikhar Dhawan hits half-century on return to ‘first team’, complicates situation for openers India in ODIs

Also Read: Follow India vs South Africa 1st ODI Live Updates

Chasing 297, India had a good start before KL Rahul collapsed after scoring 12 runs with India’s score of 46/1 at 8.3 overs. However star opener Shikhar Dhawan carried the show by registering a quick 50 ultimately bringing his innings to an end at 79. Coming back into the squad after almost a year, Dhawan looked like a man set to prove a point. Dhawan’s last ODI encounter was against Sri Lanka in June 2021.

IND vs SA Live: Shikhar Dhawan hits half-century on return to ‘first team’, complicates situation for openers India in ODIs

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Shikhar Dhawan hits a wonderful 50 on his return to the ODIs

This good performance on the other hand has an adverse effect in selecting the permanent squad for the ODIs. The opener dilemma continues as there are a total of 4 contenders for the opening spot. Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, and Suryakumar Yadav.

If Dhawan is incorporated into the side again, KL Rahul will drop to the 4th position and a potential lower batting-middle order of Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, and Shreyas Iyer will cease to be a reality. Things too can look bleak for Dhawan as he is not a young player anymore. He will be almost 37 years old in time for the ICC 2023 Cricket World Cup.

IND vs SA Live: Shikhar Dhawan hits half-century on return to ‘first team’, complicates situation for openers India in ODIs

None of the players will be eager to lose their spot in the Nation team which can potentially be harmful and critical for their careers. Replacing injured ODI skipper Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul led the men in blue against the mighty Proteas.

The South African side won the toss and elected to bat fast. The Proteas scored 296 runs with the loss of 4 wickets at the break. Skipper Temba Bavuma scored a wonder 110 while Rassie van der Dussen remained not out after a magnificent 129. In reply India, began on a splendid note as they reached 141/1 in just 236 overs with Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli batting 1 and 45 respectively.

IND vs SA Live: Shikhar Dhawan hits half-century on return to ‘first team’, complicates situation for openers India in ODIs

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