India’s stand-in skipper, Shikhar Dhawan is currently leading the men in blue in the ongoing three-match ODI series against New Zealand. The veteran opener showed what he is made of against the hosts, as he played a decent knock of 72 in the first ODI, and formed a partnership of 124 runs for the first wicket alongside Shubman Gill. Ahead of the first ODI, former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri showered praises on Dhawan, saying the left-hander does not get the accolades that he really deserves.

Speaking during Pre-Match Coverage of Prime Video for the 1st ODI, Ravi Shastri said: “He’s vastly experienced. He doesn’t get the accolades that he deserves. To be honest, most of the spotlight is on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.”

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He further added, “But when you look at his one-day cricket record, and you look at some of the innings he has played against top teams in big games, it’s an outstanding record.A left-hander at the top makes a lot of difference. He is a natural stroke player, he has got all the shots to countertop class fast bowling, the pull, the cut, and the drive.”

Ravi Shastri concluded by saying, “He likes it when the ball is coming onto the bat, and I think his experience will be handy here. There are a lot of talented youngsters around, but I think in this format of the game, his experience will be in value.”

In the ongoing first ODI, Team India managed to post a decent enough score of 306/7 in 50 overs after being asked to bat first.

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Shikhar Dhawan (72), Shreyas Iyer (80), and Shubman Gill (50) all played quality knocks and, in the end, Washington Sundar alos played a blitzkrieg unbeaten 37-run knock off 16 balls helped India to post a defendable score of 306 runs on the board.