Disappointed not to get a 100, says India captain Shikhar Dhawan

India captain Shikhar Dhawan has said he was a bit disappointed after missing out on a hundred by only three runs but was happy to contribute to the team’s victory in the first ODI against the West Indies in Port of Spain on Friday, July 22. Team India held their nerves to seal a three-run win where West Indies finished with 305/6.

On the other hand, Shikhar Dhawan missed out on his 18th ODI hundred by falling for 97 when he tried to reach the feat with a boundary against left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie. And, his long wait for an ODI hundred continues as he last scored a century at the 2019 World Cup. With this, he also missed out on an opportunity to become only the third Indian captain to hit an ODI hundred in the West Indies.

“It was disappointing but grateful for 97. I enjoyed it. It was difficult as it was holding a bit and turned. When Shubman, Shreyas and I were batting, we wanted to go big and make it easy for the youngsters,” Dhawan said after India’s victory over West Indies.

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India felt nervous when they were defending, says Shikhar Dhawan

However, Shikhar Dhawan added that India felt nervous when they were defending as they did not think West Indies would manage to chase the total. West Indies managed to cross the 300-run mark on the back of a classy 75 from opener Kyle Mayers and a fifty from Brandon King but Mohammed Siraj successfully defended 15 runs in the final over to help India register a 3-run win.

“We had nerves as we didn't expect them to come this close. Fine leg went back and two three boundaries were stopped there which helped. We thought of using the bigger side, we gave doubles to the fine leg. One of them should have been a run out but not everyday is a perfect day. We have to get better,” Shikhar Dhawan concluded.

Team India will look to take a 2-0 lead when they play against West Indies at the same venue on Sunday, July 24.