Defeated dull phase by staying calm, says Dhawan
24 Feb 2015 10:38 PM GMT
Indian cricket’s man of the moment Shikhar Dhawan, who mesmerised the MCG crowd with his 137-run match-winning knock against South Africa, said staying calm during a lean patch was key to his success in the first two matches of the World Cup. Dhawan, who had an ordinary ODI tri-series just before the 50-over showpiece event, struck form with his gutsy 73 in India’s convincing win against Pakistan and then blazed to his seventh ODI ton to help India break the World Cup jinx against the Proteas. The left-handed opener was over the moon to score a ton against a top notch side.
“It is a fantastic feeling to get a 100 in your first World Cup. But more than anything it gives me immense happiness that we beat South Africa for the first time in the World Cup. They are one of the best teams in the world and it gives you great satisfaction to beat the big sides in the competition. To score against big teams makes the feeling even better,” Dhawan was quoted as saying by bcci.tv after his team’s 130-run win over Proteas on Sunday. Dhawan was dropped for the fourth and final Test against Australia and found the going tough in the tri-series matches against Australia and England. He is happy to be back in form.
“It feels great to be back in form. I have been waiting for this moment for the past three months. I tried my best to stay calm during that phase. I never got afraid or troubled when runs were not coming off my bat. I always had the belief that the tough days will be followed by the good ones. It was important for me to stay mentally calm and stable at that time. I feel the calmness in my temperament has reflected in my batting and helped me get the results,” said the southpaw.
“It is a fantastic feeling to get a 100 in your first World Cup. But more than anything it gives me immense happiness that we beat South Africa for the first time in the World Cup. They are one of the best teams in the world and it gives you great satisfaction to beat the big sides in the competition. To score against big teams makes the feeling even better,” Dhawan was quoted as saying by bcci.tv after his team’s 130-run win over Proteas on Sunday. Dhawan was dropped for the fourth and final Test against Australia and found the going tough in the tri-series matches against Australia and England. He is happy to be back in form.
“It feels great to be back in form. I have been waiting for this moment for the past three months. I tried my best to stay calm during that phase. I never got afraid or troubled when runs were not coming off my bat. I always had the belief that the tough days will be followed by the good ones. It was important for me to stay mentally calm and stable at that time. I feel the calmness in my temperament has reflected in my batting and helped me get the results,” said the southpaw.
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