Shikhar Dhawan becomes third Indian to hit at least three World Cup tons

Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan on Sunday added yet another feather on his cap as he became only the third Indian batsman to notch up at least three ICC World Cup centuries after former cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. 

The 33-year-old achieved the feat when he struck his 17th one-day internationals (ODI) century during his side's second group stage match of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup 2019 against Australian at The Oval in London. 

Notably, Sachin Tendulkar holds the record of the highest number of World Cup centuries with six tons between 1992-2011, while Sourav Ganguly has three World Cup tons to his name. 

Dhawan, who was dismissed cheaply for eight runs in the tournament opener against South Africa, reached the three-figure mark off just 95 balls. Dhawan's ton, which was laced with 13 boundaries, came with a quick single on the fourth ball of the 33rd over following a  mix-up between the wicket with Indian skipper Virat Kohli.

Opting to bat first, Dhawan and his opening partner Rohit Sharma (57) provided the Men in Blue with a perfect start by sharing a huge 127-run stand for the opening wicket before the latter was caught by Alex Carey behind the wicket off a Nathan Coulter-Nile delivery. 

Subsequently, Dhawan also stitched a 93-run partnership with Kohli (40) before the Indian opener's incredible innings came to an end after being caught by Nathan Lyon at deep midwicket off a Mitchell Starc delivery in the 37th over. 

However, left-handed Indian opener Dhawan put the Men in Blue in a strong position by guiding them past the 200-run mark before his dismissal. It was also Dhawan's fourth hundred against Australia as well as the sixth century of the ongoing edition of the World Cup. 

It was also Dhawan’s 10th fifty-plus score in an ICC event since the 2013 Champions Trophy and his third World Cup century. 

Overall, Dhawan has amassed a total of 5,363 runs in 129 ODIs he played for India so far at an average of 44.3.