Shikhar Dhawan smashed his way to the record books with a breathtaking 248-run knock as he singlehandedly guided India A to a 39-run victory over a fighting South Africa ‘A’ and into the tri-series final on Monday. The 27-year-old Delhi left-hander blasted a 150-ball-248, which is only the second highest individual List A score behind former Surrey batsman Alistair Brown’s 268 against Glamorgan at Oval in 2002.
Riding on Dhawan’s brilliance and some solid support from skipper Cheteshwar Pujara (109 not out), India A amassed a mammoth 433 for three in 50 overs. The target was a tall-order for the home team but their batsmen fought hard before being bowled out for 394 in 48.4 overs. Reeza Hendricks (102, 78 balls, 12x4, 2x6) and Vaughn van Jaarsveld’s (108, 91 balls, 7x4, 5x6) centuries were not good enough to take the hosts past the finishing line. India A will meet Australia A in the final on Wednesday.
The day undoubtedly belonged to Dhawan, who hit 30 boundaries and seven sixes in his innings during which he surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s 200 not out against South Africa in 2010 at Gwalior and Virender Sehwag’s 219 against West Indies in Indore back in 2011.
Dhawan started smashing bowlers from the word ‘go’ as the first ball of the match bowled by seamer Hardus Viljoen was driven towards long-on for a boundary. a
Riding on Dhawan’s brilliance and some solid support from skipper Cheteshwar Pujara (109 not out), India A amassed a mammoth 433 for three in 50 overs. The target was a tall-order for the home team but their batsmen fought hard before being bowled out for 394 in 48.4 overs. Reeza Hendricks (102, 78 balls, 12x4, 2x6) and Vaughn van Jaarsveld’s (108, 91 balls, 7x4, 5x6) centuries were not good enough to take the hosts past the finishing line. India A will meet Australia A in the final on Wednesday.
The day undoubtedly belonged to Dhawan, who hit 30 boundaries and seven sixes in his innings during which he surpassed Sachin Tendulkar’s 200 not out against South Africa in 2010 at Gwalior and Virender Sehwag’s 219 against West Indies in Indore back in 2011.
Dhawan started smashing bowlers from the word ‘go’ as the first ball of the match bowled by seamer Hardus Viljoen was driven towards long-on for a boundary. a