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India vs Sri Lanka: Stats reveal why Shikhar Dhawan is the danger man against SL in 1st ODI
India vs Sri Lanka: A look at stats reveals that despite all the challenges in front of him, Shikhar Dhawan is still the danger man against Sri Lanka in the first ODI.
India opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan will have a mountain of a challenge in front of him when he comes out to take on Sri Lanka in the first ODI in Colombo. The left-handed batsman has been named as the captain of the team on the tour, as regular skipper Virat Kohli and vice-captain Rohit Sharma are in the UK for the England Tests.
It means Dhawan will be leading the troops in Sri Lanka for the entire tour, which will not be an easy task. He has to lead the team from the front while also ensuring he gets runs on the board as there is stiff competition for the openers slot in the current Indian cricket team set-up.
FOLLOW LIVE BLOG: INDIA VS SRI LANKA 1ST ODI
But a look at stats reveals why despite all the challenges in front of him, Dhawan is still the danger man for Sri Lanka in the first ODI.
First and foremost, Dhawan has a brilliant record against Sri Lanka in the ODIs, having scored 983 runs in 16 innings, at an average of 70.21, which is his best among all the teams (with minimum 5 ODIs played).
He is just 17 runs away from reaching 1000 ODI runs against Sri Lanka. If he does so in the first ODI, Sri Lanka will be the 2nd team after Australia, against whom Dhawan would have 1000 ODI runs.
Moreover, if Dhawan gets these runs in the 1st ODI, he will be the quickest to score 1000 runs vs SL in ODIs. He will surpass South Africa's Hashim Amla, who reached the mark 18 innings, while Dhawan would have reached it in his 17th ODI innings vs Sri Lanka.
Also, Dhawan has scored nine fifty-plus scores against Sri Lanka in the ODIs in 16 innings and his strike rate of 98.30 against the neighbouring nation is his 2nd best after Pakistan among all teams (with minimum 5 ODIs played).
