'I was always in the groove' - Shikhar Dhawan on his heroics in the ODIs against England

Shikhar Dhawan was in scintillating form in the recently concluded ODI series against England. The left-hander scored 169 runs in the ODI series and scored his runs at an average of 56.33. In the three innings that Dhawan played, he scored 2 fifties and also won the Man of the Match award in the first rubber.

In the T20I series though, Dhawan got just one chance and was left out of the side after the first game. In the opening T20I against the England side, Dhawan departed after scoring just 4 runs. And, Ajit Agarkar asked Dhawan after the conclusion of the ODI series whether he was back in the groove. And for that, the left-hander cheekily stated that he was always in the groove, and it was just that he was not amongst the runs.

Dhawan also added that he had been playing a lot of domestic cricket and had got excellent match practice. He further said that the pitches for the last 2 ODIs were really good for batting and concluded by stating that he enjoyed playing on such types of wickets.

“I was always in the groove, it’s just that I wasn’t playing. Once I got the chance, I made the most of it. I was playing domestic cricket – Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare – and that was match practice for me. I’m glad I played those tournaments. The wicket was very good, especially the last two matches and I enjoy playing on such bouncy tracks,” said Dhawan after the 3rd ODI as quoted by DNA.

Shikhar Dhawan flaunted class in the third ODI against England

The way the third ODI played out, it would have surely made the fans chew their nails in tension. Even though England looked like they would go down meekly after they were reduced to 200/7 chasing 330, Sam Curran played a blinder of an innings. The left-hander plundered a sensational 83 ball 95* and took the match deep. However, the Indian side had the last laugh and won the match by a slender margin of 7 runs.

And, Dhawan played a pivotal role in helping the Indian side post a total in excess of 300. The 35-year-old plundered a brisk 56 ball 67, and put on a 103-run stand for the opening wicket alongside Rohit Sharma, and laid the foundation for a huge total.