David Warner congratulates Shikhar Dhawan for a scintillating century

Australian opener David Warner congratulated Shikhar Dhawan for a breathtaking century on the opening day of the Galle Test match. Dhawan wasn’t in the frame to get picked for this Test tour but an injury to Murali Vijay paved the way for a Test recall for the Delhi batsman. He took his opportunity with both hands and smashed a memorable hundred to deflate the hosts.

Dhawan, Warner share a close bond

Both Warner and Dhawan are teammates at the IPL as the duo turn out for Sunrisers Hyderabad. It was the IPL which turned the fortunes of Dhawan, who was out of national reckoning since October last year. He made loads of runs in the 10th edition of the IPL which helped him get on the plane to England for the ICC Champions Trophy. In the 8-team event, Dhawan was in red-hot form, winning the Golden Bat for the second straight time. His consistency in the ODIs helped him get back into the Test side.

Warner took to Twitter to convey his congratulatory message to his IPL opening partner. He wrote: Well played to Shikhar Dhawan awesome to see him go well. Love Sri Lanka what a place.

Well played to @SDhawan25 awesome to see him go well. Love Sri Lanka what a place.

— David Warner (@davidwarner31) July 26, 2017

Dhawan took the Sri Lankan attack to the cleaners

Dhawan was severe on the Sri Lankan attack, especially after lunch. He hit a flurry of boundaries to go past his 5th Test ton, the last one coming at the same venue two years ago. He eventually fell trying to hit one over the top for 190. His knock needed just 167 balls and was studded with 31 hits to the fence. Dhawan responded to his IPL skipper’s tweet.

Thanks david fr ur wishes man!!☺️

— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) July 26, 2017

The opener strung a 252-run stand with Pujara, who helped himself to his 12th Test century. Both batted in contrasting fashions to help India make early inroads in the Test match. With the help of Dhawan and late Pujara, India finished the day one run short of 400 with the loss of 3 wickets.