'One of them was always...': Suresh Raina recalls origin of Rohit-Dhawan partnership at 2013 Champions Trophy
Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma first came together as India's first-choice openers at the 2013 Champions Trophy
The 2013 Champions Trophy remains the last major ODI title India have won and a huge reason for the team's success in that tournament was the establishment of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan as their first-choice opening partnership. They went on to become one of the most prolific opening partnerships of all time in ODI cricket history.
Suresh Raina, who was an integral part of the team that won the tournament, said that the decision was a "masterstroke" by the team management. "Just look at the way they batted—they focused on timing the ball rather than forcing shots. They attacked, but only when the delivery deserved it. Rohit Sharma is technically very sound. He wore the ball down before accelerating the scoring rate. Then you had Shikhar Dhawan stepping out and taking on the bowlers," he said on Star Sports.
"Left-right combinations always trouble bowlers, and Shikhar was an aggressive striker in a different way. Rohit could hit a six whenever he wanted. Their run rate consistently stayed at 8 or 9. They cleared the ropes with ease. A 100-run partnership quickly turned into a 150-run stand. One of them was always looking to push for a century. Their understanding was excellent—they trusted each other's calls and spent so much time together."
Dhawan and Rohit opened for India for nearly a decade between 2013 and 2022 in 115 ODIs. They scored 5148 runs at an average of 45.55, with their opening stand going beyond 100 18 times. Only West Indies' Gordon Greenidge-Desmond Haynes (5150 runs), Australia's Adam Gilchrist-Matthew Hayden (5327 runs), and India's Sachin Tendulkar-Sourav Ganguly (6609 runs) have scored more runs between them at the top of the order.
'Rohit worked incredibly hard on improving his batting'
While Dhawan was already an opener, the tournament marked Rohit's first forray into that role. Rohit had a rather stop-start international career before that and even missed out on a spot in the 2011 World Cup. "The way he was timing the ball—it was exceptional. He worked incredibly hard on improving his batting. He had long discussions with Duncan (Fletcher) and shared a great rapport with MS (Dhoni). Big tournaments create big players because there’s a major trophy on the line. He wasn’t picked for the 2011 World Cup, but when 2013 came around, he grabbed the opening spot—and he still holds it," said Raina.
