Shikhar Dhawan: "Innings of Sachin and Sehwag bigger than mine"

Indian opening batsmen Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan has rated the double centuries by Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag in ODIs as better than his, as they were scored at the international level.

Shikhar Dhawan has become only the third cricketer after Sachin and Sehwag to score a double century in a fifty-over game. Dhawan scored a blistering 248 off 150 balls, making the highest List A score by an Indian.

“I was aware of the record and it felt really special to score these runs,” Dhawan said, as reported by NDTV.

“When I got out in the 44th over it occurred to me that had I batted till the end I had a chance to score a triple hundred. I am happy with what I scored though,” he said.

“It did cross my mind that I joined Sachin ‘paaji’ and Viru ‘paaji’ in scoring a double century in a one-day game,” he added.

Dhawan however did miss the opportunity to score the highest List A score of all time. Former England international Alistair Brown holds the record for the highest List A score with 268 for Surrey against Glamorgan in a game played at The Oval, UK in 2002.

Speaking on the scores of Sachin and Shewag, Dhawan said: “…those were two of the greatest innings in cricket history and they came at the international level. So, they are much bigger than my innings.”

“I’ve always loved watching them bat. But I love my batting as well. So, it’s difficult for me to pick a favourite knock out of the three,” he added.

Shikhar has had a hugely successful year of 2013 scoring one Test and three ODI centuries. He was also named man of the series of the recently concluded Champions trophy.

“I had scored 85 in the previous match (vs Australia A) and I wanted to score a big hundred for the team because our batsmen were all getting out in the 80s and 90s,” he said.

“A big century was necessary for setting a good total. Once I crossed 100, I was in a different flow. I thought my shot selection was excellent and things went my way,” he added.

“This will remain one of my favourite matches because I scored 200 for the first time in a 50-over game. Unfortunately it wasn’t broadcast live on television but that’s fine because I loved batting,” concluded Dhawan.