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‘Never back down’: Shikhar Dhawan slams 36-ball 51 after getting hit on neck during South Africa ‘A’ clash - Watch
Sanju Samson, Shikhar Dhawan and Shardul Thakur led the way as the hosts won the match by 36 runs in the rain-hit one-day.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan once again showed why he is regarded as one of the best batsmen in white-ball cricket as his quick-fire innings helped India ‘A’ get the better of South Africa ‘A’ in the fifth and final clash of one-day series on Saturday. Sanju Samson, Shikhar Dhawan and Shardul Thakur led the way as the hosts won the match by 36 runs in the rain-hit one-day. India ‘A’ thus sealed the 5-match series 4-1.
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Dhawan, who failed to set the T20I and ODI series alight in West Indies, made news for the right reasons against South Africa ‘A’ as not only he was among the runs but also showed immense grit and determination to continue batting despite being hit on the neck by a bouncer.
On the last ball of the third over from Reeza Hendricks, Dhawan was clobbered in the neck by a fierce bouncer which saw him reeling for couple of minutes. However, the southpaw returned stronger and started to take the attack in his inimitable style.
Dhawan himself posted a video of the same on social media with and inspiring message. His post read: “We fall, we break, we fail... But then... WE RISE, WE HEAL, WE OVERCOME.”
In a match that had to be reduced to 20 overs a side due to intermittent rains, India ‘A’ scored a mammoth 204/4 batting first. While the hosts lost their first wicket in the very first over, Samson and Dhawan combined to hit 137 runs in the next 13 overs to set the foundation for a big total. The stand was broken when Dhawan was dismissed on 51 off 36 balls by George Linde in the 14th over.
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Samson departed two overs later, having smoked 91 runs off just 48 balls. His innings was punctuated by seven sixes and six fours. Shreyas Iyer then went big in the death overs to push India past the 200-run mark.
The South Africans never got going in their innings. Shardul Thakur got a breakthrough at the top and then went on to take two more wickets while Washington Sundar picked two. Rahul Chahar dismissed South Africa A’s top scorer Reeza Hendricks for 59.
((With agency inputs))
