Shikhar Dhawan retirement: Top 5 Test knocks by the Team India opener
India opener Shikhar Dhawan on Saturday, August 24, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, calling time on a career filled with bright fireworks of all kinds.
The Delhi man played 34 Tests, 167 ODIs and 68 T20Is for India, and amassed 2315, 6793 and 1579 runs, respectively, in each format. His career spanned over 13 years at the international level and two decades in domestic cricket.
His last appearance for India came in 2022, in an ODI against Bangladesh in Chattogram, while the last Test and T20I he played were in 2018 and 2021, respectively.
Although predominantly known as a white-ball enforcer at the top of the order, Dhawan was also a fascinating red-ball cricketer, with the stunning 187 he scored on debut against Australia in 2013 fresh in everyone's memory.
His first-class average of 44 too speaks highly about his ability against the red ball as an opener. In this listicle, we take a look at the top five Test knocks played by the 38-year-old.
#1 190 vs Sri Lanka, 2017
Dhawan's highest score in Test cricket is the 190 he scored against Sri Lanka at the picturesque cricket ground in Galle, southern Sri Lanka, on India's tour of the country in 2017, when they won 3-0.
Batting first on a placid surface in the first Test, India ran up a mammoth 600 on the board thanks largely to Dhawan's 190 which came off a mere 168 deliveries. His strike rate was an astonishing 113.09 with 31 boundaries to boot.
Cheteshwar Pujara too followed it up with a ton (153), before India had no trouble dismantling the Lankans and comfortably winning the Test by 304 runs. Then-skipper Virat Kohli also scored a century (103*) in the second innings.
#2 187 vs Australia, 2013
Who can ever forget the brilliant 187 that Shikhar Dhawan scored against Australia on his debut in the third Test of the 2013 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Mohali? The daredevil opener took the world by storm with his antics and surprised every Aussie bowler on the park.
Having bowled the Kangaroos out for 408 in the first innings, the Men in Blue responded with a fine 499, of which the majority was scored by Dhawan, with his 187 coming off a mere 174 balls.
Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle (who returned with 5-71), Nathan Lyon and Xavier Doherty were all stunned by the hurricane that blew past them in this Test. India won by six wickets and sealed a clean sweep in the fourth match in Delhi.
#3 173 vs Bangladesh, 2015
Shikhar Dhawan is among a very rare group of openers who have three 150-plus scores to their name. His third came against Bangladesh on India's tour of their neighbours in 2015 in the one-off Test in Fatullah.
India batted first - and only once - in this Test to put up a mammoth total of 462-6 declared. Openers Dhawan (173) and Murali Vijay (150) made merry, with the Bangladeshi bowlers toiling hard in the heat.
In return, the hosts batted twice but a result could not be obtained despite Ravichandran Ashwin's five for 87 in the first innings. Rain played spoilsport and India had to return home empty-handed.
#4 134 vs Sri Lanka, 2015
Dhawan had a recurring love affair with the scenic cricket ground in Galle overlooking the fort. He scored his first ton (134 off 271 balls) at the venue on India's 2015 tour of Sri Lanka.
Virat Kohli too chipped in with an identical 103, that he would later score at the same venue two years later, as India responded with 375 to Sri Lanka's 183 in the first innings.
The hosts did far better in their second innings and put up 367 runs on the board, setting India a target of 167 to chase. But the visitors floundered and were shockingly bowled out for 112.
Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who would go on to become one of the finest spin bowlers in the world, was India's tormentor-in-chief in the second innings with a brilliant haul of seven for 48.
#5 119 vs Sri Lanka, 2017
Shikhar Dhawan clearly liked playing against and in Sri Lanka, and it is no surprise that three of his top five knocks in Test cricket came at India's southern neighbours' place.
Batting first in the third Test of the 2017 tour in Pallekele, near Kandy, India piled up 487 runs, of which Dhawan contributed 119 off 123 deliveries. Hardik Pandya smashed a nerve-racking 108 off just 96 balls - his only Test hundred.
Kuldeep Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin spun a web on the Lankan batters and bowled them out for 135 and 181 in their two innings (one while following on). India won the Test by an innings and 171 runs and wrapped up the series 3-0.