Twitterati bow down to Shikhar Dhawan as he slams 11th ODI hundred in 71 balls

New Delhi: After bagging man of the series award in the recently concluded Test series against Sri Lanka, despite not being named in the first 15-man squad, Shikhar Dhawan continued his spectacular form in the first ODI against the Lankans in Dambula, slamming a 71-ball hundred. (IND vs SL - Full Coverage)

The Southpaw, who was India's most consistent performer in the Test series, made his way into the team after Murali Vijay suffered an injury setback and couldn't be included in the tour.

After consistently being amon the runs for the Men in Blue during the ICC Champions Trophy, Dhawan continued his hot form to slam an unbeaten knock of 132 runs in 90 balls - his fastest ODI ton - as India went on to take 9-wicket victory over the Lankans in the opening ODI.

Dhawan's heroics got Twitterati erupted with joy, as fans couldn't stop praising the left-hander for repeatedly stealing the limelight.

11th ODI Hundred. 8th Away From Home. 100 Off Just 71 Balls. Shikhar Dhawan Is In Form Of His Life. Well Played Gabbar. #INDvSL #IndvsSL pic.twitter.com/2puXpYduUL — Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadejaaaa) August 20, 2017

Shikhar Dhawan..
11th ODI 100
8th 100 in away ODI
6th 100 while chasing
4th 100 at night
3rd v SL
1st in SL
4th in Asia
2nd in 2017#SLvInd — Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) August 20, 2017

India won the 1st ODI by 9 wickets with 21 overs to spare. What an innings Shikhar Dhawan 132(90)* and Virat Kohli 82(70)* #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/xvQXnw44Pl — Mahesh_sanas_ (@sanas_mahesh) August 20, 2017

Dhawan and Sri Lanka is turning out to be quite a remarkable love story. Fantastic 100 again from @SDhawan25 #INDvSL — Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) August 20, 2017

She: Surprise me.

Shikhar Dhawan:
Scored 338 runs in Champions trophy.
Scored 2 centuries in test against SL.
Started ODI series with a 100

— Sunil- The Cricketer (@1sInto2s) August 20, 2017

I don't think @SDhawan25 is aware of any fielders on the ground......... — Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) August 20, 2017

Shikhar Dhawan's last five innings vs Sri Lanka:

94(114)
113(107)
79(80)
91(79)
125(128)#SLvIND — Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) August 20, 2017

Opting to field, India bundled out Sri Lanka for 216, chasing down the target of 217 with as many as 127 balls to spare.

Brief scores:

Sri Lanka: 216 all out in 43.2 overs (Niroshan Dickwella 64, Kusal Mendis 36, Angelo Mathews 36 not out; Jasprit Bumrah 3/34, Axar Patel 3/34)

India: 220 for one in 28.5 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 132 not out, Virat Kohli 82 not out)