Asia Cup 2018: Rohit Sharma reveals why Shikhar Dhawan must be left alone while batting

India chief coach Ravi Shastri was back behind the microphone as he interviewed Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan in what they termed as the ‘Hitman and the Gabbar show’ after the win against Pakistan.

It was a clinical show from India skipper Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan against Pakistan on Sunday as they put on 210 for the opening wicket. It was delightful how the two first paced the innings, scoring 53 runs in the first 10 overs and then took the bowling to the cleaners as India chased down Pakistan’s total of 237 with more than 10 overs left.

Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma (L) and his teammate Shikhar Dhawan greet each other during the one day international (ODI) Asia Cup cricket match between Pakistan and India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on September 23, 2018. (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP) (AFP)

Interestingly, it was chief coach Ravi Shastri who was back behind the microphone as he interviewed the duo in what they termed as the ‘Hitman and the Gabbar show’ for BCCI.tv.

Explaining how his batting partner functions, Rohit said: “The first five overs he is all cricket talks. But after that, it is like our old self where we talk of different stuff. In the first six overs we decide what we need to do and how we need to take singles, who are the fielders who are struggling and all of that. Once we have played 6 or 7 overs, then it is better to leave Shikhar alone. “

For Dhawan, Sunday’s partnership was all about memories and one that he wants to cherish with his son when he grows older. “It is good to play against a good attack and it is quite satisfying when you score runs against them. It is a very proud moment for us. When I grow old, I will tell my son that I scored 100 against Pakistan. Wherever you play against Pakistan, it is always a special moment,” he said.

Dhawan said the plan was to start cautiously and ensure that Pakistan don’t make early inroads as they have a quality batting attack. “When we went in to bat, we knew that they have got good fast bowlers and we knew that we have to stay in there for 10 or 15 overs to get rid of the new ball and once we were set, we were enjoying each others’ company. So if Rohit was being aggressive, I was taking the backseat and vice-versa. Having played so many games together, we don’t need to say much to each other and work on auto-pilot mode,” he said.

While there have been a lot of talks about how Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed missed a trick by deciding to bat after winning the toss, Rohit said that there wasn’t much difference. “Under lights it gets slightly better to bat, you see the ball well. I wouldn’t say there is much difference between batting first or second, but under lights it is slightly better to bat. We have seen it in the past that bowlers struggle to maintain the same length when you have a left and right-hand combination at the top. We knew Pakistan bowling would have been a threat with the new ball and we needed to rotate the strike,” he explained.

Shastri finished it off in his trademark style as he said: “Save the best for the last boys.”