WC: Dhawan powers India's 1st win over S Africa

MELBOURNE: If a week is a long time in politics, then a fortnight must surely be an eternity in cricket. When the World Cup began barely 10 days ago, only die-hard Indian fans believed their team had a chance. The bookies pointed to India's toothless attack and out-of-form batsmen and placed them in the middle rung. Two matches on, the defending champs have emerged as serious contenders, following up their triumph over Pakistan with a scarcely believable 130-run walloping of South Africa. The Proteas are considered among the frontrunners to win the trophy, but by captain AB de Villiers' own admission, they were left licking their wounds after suffering their heaviest loss ever in a World Cup match. Meanwhile, the Men in Blue — and millions of their fans — were celebrating India's first win over South Africa in four attempts at the World Cup. Nobody symbolizes the turnaround in India's fortunes better than Shikhar Dhawan. The explosive left-hander had totalled just 216 runs in 10 innings before the World Cup. But in two innings in the Cup, he has scored 210 runs and is on top of the run-scoring list. Apparently, team director Ravi Shastri has been spending a lot of time with him in the nets. Before the Cup began, Dhawan was encouraged by the team management to take his mind off the game, which seems to have helped. Somebody quipped that Dhawan was probably feeling at home as Melbourne is the home of his wife, Ayesha. If that didn't help, the overwhelming Indian presence in the MCG stands certainly must have. There was the odd South African flag visible, but for all practical purposes, India might as well have been playing at home. As Greg Baum put it, "the MCG... added to the ever growing impression that cricket in any outpost is essentially a branch office of India". After Dhawan built the platform, it was Ajinkya Rahane who provided the impetus, slamming 79 from just 60 balls as India powered to 307. Once again, the Indian attack had the luxury of runs in the bank to bowl with. They kept things tight, and were superbly backed up by the fielders. As the pressure mounted, one witnessed a sight verging on the surreal as de Villiers — one of the quickest runners between wickets and a dreaded fielder —was himself run out following a superb throw by Mohit Sharma. Later, David Miller took on Umesh Yadav's arm and was decisively beaten. The Proteas never recovered. Lady luck too smiled on India. M S Dhoni again won the toss and opted to bat. Vernon Philander limped off after bowling just 4 overs, forcing de Villiers to persist with Wayne Parnell even as he was smashed for 85 runs off 9 overs — the worst figures by a South African in a Cup game. And Hashim Amla dropped Dhawan on 53. But India also made their own luck with a gutsy display. After a brilliant direct hit by de Villiers got rid of Rohit Sharma for a duck, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli saw out testing spells by Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel. The lanky Morkel generated awkward bounce and got Dhawan into a tangle with a short ball that rapped him on the gloves but the batsman responded by contemptuously pulling the very next ball to the boundary. As Kohli and Dhawan motored along, the South Africans began fumbling in the field — an unusual sight for them. Kohli was dismissed against the run of play as he slapped Imran Tahir straight to Faf du Plessis. His anguished scream showed just how badly he wanted to play another match-winning knock. Fortunately for India, Rahane and Dhawan accelerated smoothly. Dhawan got to his century and then took on Steyn, depositing a slower ball for six. The next ball was predictably dug in short and Dhawan swayed away and ramped it over the keeper's head for four, leaving Steyn fuming. India was looking good for 325 at one stage but again faltered at the death, going from 261/2 in the 44th over to 307/7 after 50 overs. The batting in the last overs is just about India's only worry right now. Also, it remains to be seen how India will fare if asked to chase instead of putting runs on the board. But for now, the team has two big wins from its first two matches — and the rest of the field is surely taking notice.   TOI