India's tour to West Indies: Shikhar Dhawan hails Virat Kohli's backing, says it feels good to bat with him

While Dhawan missed out on a ton by 14 runs, Kohli continued his sublime form this year with his 12th Test century, first against the West Indies.

India's tour to West Indies: Shikhar Dhawan hails Virat Kohli's backing, says it feels good to bat with him

New Delhi: Despite not being in the best of form in Test cricket, Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan silenced critics with a brilliant 84-run knock in first innings of the first Test against West Indies.

Dhawan, who was under scrutiny with the likes of Lokesh Rahul and Rohit Sharma waiting in the wings, has now probably cemented his place in the team for the next few Tests.

Breathing a sigh of relief after his brilliant knock, Dhawan said that the backing of the skipper is something which gave him a lot of confidence.

"I feel it is important for any player if the captain and the coach are backing you and it gives a lot of confidence. That's what matters and you also need to have self-belief that you can do that and it is a mixture of everything," Dhawan told mediapersons after the first day's play.

"Opening is the toughest job and you need a big heart for it, when facing the new ball on a new (fresh) wicket. Bowlers also bowl with full energy and as opener your technique should also be good because you have to leave a lot of balls and you need patience as well," said Dhawan.

While Dhawan missed out on a ton by 14 runs, Kohli continued his sublime form this year with his 12th Test century, first against the West Indies.

"He (Kohli) played a tremendous knock and continued scoring after his hundred. Hopefully he scores big runs and gets a double hundred. It feels good to bat with him and we were rotating the strike and scoring runs at a good pace. I feel that made a difference because we made the partnership very quickly. That is a good thing and it is always a pleasure to watch Virat, the way he times the ball," said Dhawan.

Dhawan and Kohli were also involved in a 105-run stand for the third-wicket partnership.