A season to remember for Rishi Dhawan
18-year-old Rishi Dhawan back in 2008 was drafted into the Punjab Kings’ unit ahead of the inaugural season. It took him nearly a decade to break into the Indian setup, which he did when the side were still all eyes searching for a fast-bowling all-rounder who can get somewhere close to the levels of Kapil Dev. That is the benchmark for any fast-bowling all-rounder in India, isn’t it?
He rightfully earned his place among those ranks, although things didn’t go as per plan once he donned the national blues. He had scored 302 runs with the bat and picked up 9 wickets in 7 games of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2015/16. It regained him a place in the Punjab Kings setup and earned him 3 ODIs against Australia, where he picked up just one wicket.
Unfortunately for the cricketer, he has remained in the mould of those who do exceedingly well at the domestic level but struggle when elevated. For nearly 4 seasons he hasn’t been a part of the IPL, and the name was slowly dissolving out of our memory.
But this year in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, perhaps he was adamant to break the shackles and go beyond just a “good cricketer”. You get a sense that something has changed with regard to his temperament. It could be a case of “he couldn’t care less” or “high-time to prove himself”, we might never know what is perpetrating this, but it seems to be working out wonders.
Take the final, for example. Himachal Pradesh needed 71 runs in just under 9 overs, there was, perhaps, an over available for him to negotiate the conditions. He cleared his front leg to whip Washington Sundar over the mid-wicket boundary off the second ball he faced. He then kept using the pace of the Tamil Nadu spinners to find the boundary.
When bad light stopped play eventually, the side were already 11 runs ahead of the par total, and not to forget the three crucial dismissals he inflicted with the ball. Talk about leading a team by example, Rishi Dhawan has done exactly that, not just in the finale, but throughout the tournament.
Rishi Dhawan – The go-to man for every situation
Himachal Pradesh never really enter a tournament as favourites, the case was no different this time. Their tournament kick-started with a clash against a strong Vidarbha side and from game number one, Rishi Dhawan was in action. They were losing wickets in a canter when he walked out to bat, but he managed to do his business without a worry and got a half-century, helping his team get past the 200-mark.
Vidarbha chased the total comfortably, and Himachal started the tournament with a defeat. In their second fixture, there was a top-order failure once again, but Rishi Dhawan was not the only one who stood firm this time. He got a well-composed 44, and anchored the innings brilliantly to allow Akash Vasisht to take charge of the big-hitting.
The total wasn’t big enough, but the likes of Vinay Galetiya and Arpit Guleria kept things very tight. Rishi Dhawan chipped in with the wickets as Jammu & Kashmir were restricted to 187 runs, which got the eventual champions off the mark. He chipped in with another half-century and two wickets against Gujarat to get them their second win and despite getting a sensational 79 against Andhra, they failed to chase down a big total.
With every passing game, he was getting better. If not with the bat, he was starring with the ball, or the other way around. His performance of the tournament came against Odisha in round 5 of the group stages, when he got a 58-ball 91 walking out to bat at number five, and registered figures of 3/51 with the ball. He can help the side get 50 extra runs with the bat and break partnerships with the ball, something he has done time and again.
The only game where he did nothing significant was the quarterfinal, but his troops came to the rescue to defeat Uttar Pradesh. He was out for a duck and picked up no wickets in this game, but compensated for this missed chance in the semifinal against Services.
He walked out to bat at 106/4 halfway through the innings with his side batting first. It was a pretty decent track to bat on and 250 was perhaps a par total, which seemed difficult to achieve. But Dhawan worked his way around cautiously, before launching a full-blown attack in the final five overs.
His ability to heave the slower bowlers over the boundary, and also to just find gaps with a finesse touch, makes it so difficult for bowlers to find the right channel. With the bat, he could not have been more flawless as he was on such an important day and finished with 77-ball 84. He was the star with the ball as well, registering figures of 4/27 in 8.1 overs to get a 77-run win.
Of the 8 games Himachal Pradesh played, Rishi Dhawan, got the double of 40+ runs and 2+ wickets on 5 occasions. He finished as the second-highest run-scorer and second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, a little imperfect in its own way, but one that will remain alive in memory for a long time.
Himachal Pradesh needed something extra special to get their first-ever title in domestic cricket. They got exactly that from a cricketer who has been their main man across all formats for a long time.