Nidahas Trophy 2018: Shikhar Dhawan continues good form, scores fifty against Sri Lanka

Shikhar Dhawan hammered his fifth Twenty20 International fifty but it went in vain as Sri Lanka beat India by five wickets in the opening game of the Nidahas Trophy 2018 in Colombo.

Shikhar Dhawan registered his fifth T20 international fifty off just 30 balls but it went in vain as Sri Lanka beat India by five wickets in the opening game of the Nidahas Trophy 2018 in Colombo. (SL vs IND UPDATES)

Shikhar Dhawan scored his fifth Twenty20 International fifty but it went in vain as Sri Lanka beat India by five wickets in the opening game of the Nidahas Trophy 2018 in Colombo. (Twitter)

Dhawan’s knock and his superb partnership with Manish Pandey helped India, who was inserted to bat by Sri Lanka, recover after they had lost Rohit Sharma (0) and Suresh Raina (1) cheaply. The Indian skipper fell to a brilliant catch running back by Jeevan Mendis while Raina was bowled off a full toss by Nuwan Pradeep. (SL vs IND SCORES)

After a scratchy start which saw him survive two close calls off spinner Akila Dananjaya, Dhawan got going with two boundaries off Pradeep, although one was a top-edged pull which landed safely at fine leg. At the other end, Pandey was batting fluidly and Dhawan neared his landmark with two sixes, yet again off Pradeep, although one was a top edge that went over the keeper and the fence.

The left-hander notched up his fifty by slapping a wide ball from Danajaya to the deep extra cover fence. This continued Dhawan’s great run in the shortest format after registering scores of 72, 24 and 47 during India’s 2-1 series win in South Africa.