Top 5 innings by Shikhar Dhawan

#3 137 (146) vs South Africa, February 22, 2015

Occasion: First innings, 13th match, Pool B of the ICC Cricket World Cup at Melbourne, February 22, 2015.

This is arguably Dhawan's best knock in ODIs.

Placed alongside heavyweights like Pakistan, Windies, South Africa and so on, India needed a constant run on wins in the Group Stage of the World Cup, to earn a place in the knockout stages. The win against Pakistan provided the right start, but there was a need to keep it coming in the games that followed.

It was in such a scenario that India faced South Africa. Despite being the defending champions, fewer people fancied India's chances to the throne than South Africa - that was how strong the latter side was. But that did not deter Shikhar, who helped India come off with a memorable victory.

Batting first, India sniffed trouble at 1/9 in 2.5 overs, when Rohit Sharma departed. But Dhawan got an efficient partner in Virat Kohli (46), with whom he created an effective partnership of 127 runs in close to 25 overs.

When Virat departed at 2/136 in 27.1 overs, trouble was not yet over and out came Ajinkya Rahane (79), with whom Dhawan made another century stand (125 runs). By the time he got out at 3/261 in 43.4 overs, India had enough runs on board to win the game, and roughly seven overs to add much more to the score as well.

The total runs scored by him on that day added to 137 runs. The one thing different from all of his other big-innings-games is that fact that he scored at less than a run-a-ball, for perhaps the only time in his career. While Shikhar Dhawan used to mean "big-hitting", this one innings highlighted that the batsman has gained a lot of maturity, with him showing his ability to bat through the innings sensibly, if that is the need of the hour. The 146-ball innings included 18 hits to the fence, including 2 maximums.

In reply, South Africa could make only 177 runs before they ran out of wickets. No one apart from Faf du Plessis (55), AB de Villiers (30) and David Miller (22) did much with the bat, India thus winning by 130 runs.

India eventually advanced so far as the semifinals, where they got eliminated by a defeat to Australia who went on to lift the cup.