Dhawan slams record 248, India A get 433 - 50 Over Game
In what is a do-or-die match for both teams, Shikhar Dhawan completed a marathon that started with efficient Mo Farah-esque strides and ended with an Usain Bolt-esque burst, helping India A post a giddying 433 for 3 against South Africa A in Pretoria. He contributed 248 of those runs - the second-highest List-A score ever.
Dhawan arrived at the century-mark off 86 balls with a straight-driven boundary in the 27th over, but found his nitro booster to rocket from there on. In the 28th over, he smashed his first six, off Juan Theron, and immediately followed it with another, signalling the start off an unprecedented attack.
Cheteshwar Pujara quietly brought up his own fifty off 54 balls in a massive stand but the projected team total was constantly being readjusted to higher levels as Dhawan kept finding the boundaries. His second hundred came at almost double the rate as his first, taking 46 balls, as he smashed his way to becoming only the third Indian to record a double-century in limited-overs cricket after Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar. But with 10 overs still left when he got past that mark, the 11-year-old record of the highest List-A score of 268 looked well within his reach. He fell 20 runs short of it to finish second best. This, however, is the best-ever individual effort in an A game. Pujara's unbeaten 109 off 97 seemed mild in comparison.
India chose to bat and the innings started with Dhawan driving one straight down the ground. A flurry of boundaries helped Dhawan and his new partner at the top, M Vijay, scoot to 91 in the 12th over, but as Pujara joined Dhawan after Vijay was caught behind for 40, there was a quiet period as the run rate dropped to below seven. It was merely the quiet before the violence. The two batsmen scored 285 runs together in 33.2 overs, 220 of which came from Dhawan's bat.
South Africa's bowling unit also entered record books as this was the first instance of five bowlers giving away more than 60 runs each in a List A match. The team, though, can take heart from the fact that the pitch in Pretoria is flatter than normal as winters are dry in the Highveld and the boundaries small. The target is also similar to what their senior team overhauled on a memorable night seven years ago.
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