"Not that it's happening for the first time or the last; it only makes me stronger" - Shikhar Dhawan on fighting setbacks on & off the field

India opener Shikhar Dhawan has learnt to live with ups and downs, saying they only make him stronger. Representing India for the first time in six months, the 36-year-old top-scored with 79 in the first ODI even as South Africa cruised to a 31-run victory.

Shikhar Dhawan has had a torrid time in the last six months. Apart from going through a marital separation and not getting picked for India’s T20 World Cup squad despite having an industrious IPL 2021, the southpaw turned in underwhelming performances for Delhi and has had to fight for the opening slot in ODIs.

But he has overcome all the setbacks and successfully repaid the team management’s faith in him. Dhawan revealed he doesn’t listen to external opinions and has learned to stay calm even in the face of adversity.

“I don’t listen to media or don’t read newspaper or watch news, so that way I don’t take all those information. I have full faith in myself – the kind of player I have become, I have great clarity on what my game is – and I stay quite calm.

“And this is part of playing, everybody’s life has ups and downs, it’s nothing new. It’s not that it’s happening for the first time or for the last time in my career or life, so it’s alright and that only makes me stronger,” Shikhar Dhawan said in response to a Sportskeeda query at the post-match press conference.

Asked about his personal goals, especially with the ODI World Cup about 20 months away, Shikhar Dhawan said he only wishes to stay fit and healthy.

“My personal target is to stay fit, stay healthy. And if I am fit and healthy, with my experience, I’ll keep scoring lots of runs,” he stated.

After the 1-2 loss in the Test series, India have fallen 0-1 behind in the three-match ODI series. The next two games are scheduled for Friday and Sunday respectively.

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“The ball I got out to, it turned more than I expected” – Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan was bowled as Keshav Maharaj's delivery hit the rough and spun sharpy to go between his bat and pad

Chasing a stiff 297 for victory, India didn’t get off to the best of starts as interim captain KL Rahul fell for 12 off 17. But senior pros Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli steadied the ship with a 92-run second wicket stand.

Dhawan admitted that the Boland Park pitch was akin to that of an Indian track, with the spinners getting the ball to both turn and go with the arm. He further highlighted the importance of big partnerships, reasoning that new batters took time to adjust to the pace of the surface.

“At the start, we looked to play to the merit of the balls. We knew that the ball won’t come that fast on this wicket – this was unlike any other South African wicket, it was sort of an Indian wicket. So I got runs off the fast bowlers at the start and, then when I got the flow, I was capitalising on that. But when the wicket fell, it was there in my mind that we have to build partnerships.

“There was turn for the spinners, some were even coming straight, so it wasn’t easy for new batters to come out and score quickly. Hence, for the set batters, the plan was to carry on. But unfortunately, the ball I got out to, it turned more than I expected. But yeah, that happens,” Shikhar Dhawan elaborated.

Earlier in the day, skipper Temba Bavuma (110 off 143) and Rassie van der Dussen (129* off 96) stitched a colossal 204-run alliance for the fourth wicket to power the Proteas to an above-par 296 for 4.