Skipper Shikhar Dhawan scored a century to guide North Zone to a confident 251-3 at close against West Zone on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy quarterfinal on Saturday says The Times of India.
North were fortunate with the toss on a flat-bed at the Chidambaram Stadium, and better still, rode on the 164-run opening wicket stand between Dhawan (101) and Rahul Dewan (65) to seize early control of the four-day game.
Meanwhile a report in The Hindu writes that Rahul Dewan (65, 187b, 7x4) was the other chief contributor. Sunny Singh (46, 9x4) and Nitin Saini (37 batting) put on 76 runs for the third wicket, consolidating a position of strength, before the former was caught behind by Parthiv Patel off seamer Samad Fallah in the day’s last over.
Opting to bat, Dhawan disoriented the fielding team with unflinching crease-occupation. Dewan was his ally in an opening partnership that lasted a little over four hours and fetched 164 runs.
With the National selectors, Sandeep Patil, Roger Binny, and Vikram Rathour, present at the venue to watch the game, Dhawan’s timing was just right. He picked up pace after lunch: the left-hander carved five fours off a Harmeet over to sprint from 81 to 101.
“I played well but was sad that I got out when I was set. We aren’t looking at a definite target. We are taking it step by step,” Dhawan was quoted in the report.