The Dhawan Blitz

Shikhar Dhawan made probably one of the most extraordinary debuts I have seen till now. A century in 85 balls and then to continue it to be unbeaten on 185 of 168 deliveries is an astonishing feat. This is an astonishing innings even the context of this game. After Australia scored 408 in a 4-day game, cricketing logic implied that if any team could win this game, it had to the Aussies. Dhawan's extraordinary innings has changed that. 

Yes, it was a flat track. The bowling was quite average. But, despite all that let us bear in mind that Shikhar Dhawan was making his debut. To play with so much courage in the very first test match is incredible. He charged down the track to Peter Siddle when he was on 98. Then took a very sharp single to bring up his 100. That really showed the mindset Dhawan was in.

The great feature about Dhawan's knock was the way drove through the offside. And it almost never seemed that he was in a real hurry. It just happened to him. It was like in his mind, he was not playing a test match but just having net-session. It was that breathtaking. It was just that kind of day, where he could do nothing wrong. When he tried the reverse-sweep - it worked, when he tried the lofted stroke- it worked, when he advanced down the track to the quick bowlers- it worked. Surely, Dhawan was in that "zone" which batsman keep talking about. The "zone" where the batsman is almost thoughtless. He just reacts to the bowling and deep down he knows that whatever happens he cannot be dismissed. 

This was the kind of onslaught which Micheal Clarke would have least expected. You would expect Sehwag to inflict this kind of pain - You would expect Dilshan to play a blinder like this - But not a bloke playing his first ever test match. Clarke completely ran out of ideas. His spinners went for aplenty. So, did the quicker men. He tried Steve Smith - did not work. Dhawan dispatched the full-tosses with disdain. To the long hops sliding down the leg-side, he played strokes which I find hard to describe in words. Probably, reverse-on-drive is the best description someone suggested in commentary or on twitter. Nothing could stop the boundary flow from Dhawan's bat. 

He reached one landmark after the other. Fast ever century on debut and then the highest individual score by an Indian on debut and he would have his eyes set on the fastest double century on debut when he comes out to bat tomorrow. 

He played like a rock-star today. Not getting affected by the enormity of occasion - just getting on with the business. At tea, the rock-star walked back curling his mustache - a style which I am sure would be copied by many youngsters if tastes more success at this level.

Now, the questions would be raised. Can he do the same in South Africa? Can he play against the likes of Morkel, Steyn, and Philander? Have we found the replacement for Sehwag? Is he the new left-handed Sehwag? I would say, let us forget about all those questions and enjoy this moment. It was simply an astonishing innings. It was astonishing for an experienced cricketer. For a player on debut, it was simply unbelievable.