India's first opening pair to put on 100-plus v Australia in World Cup

Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma

Shikhar Dhawan came into yesterday's game against Australia with scores of two and one (against New Zealand and Bangladesh respectively in the warm-ups) and eight against South Africa in India's opening encounter at Southampton.

Yesterday, the dashing southpaw scored 117 runs to power the Men in Blue to a massive total of 352-5 against Australia. He also became India's second century-maker against the men from Down Under in a World Cup, joining Ajay Jadeja, who had scored 100 not out in the 1999 World Cup game at The Oval.

Dhawan added 127 with Rohit Sharma (57) for an unprecedented 100-plus opening partnership by an Indian pair in a World Cup game against Australia.

Interestingly, the duo bettered their own partnership of 76 which they put on in the 2015 World Cup semi-final at Sydney. Incidentally, The Oval continues to be a happy hunting ground for Dhawan. He has now scored 443 ODI runs in five outings at the London venue which includes three centuries and one half-century. His averages an impressive 110.75 here.

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