Dhawan batted like Bradman, reckons Cowan

Don Bradman is regarded as one of the best batsmen ever to have played cricket. Many believe there will never be another batsman like the legendary Australian. Though the sport has seen many great players over the years, no one has come even close to matching his achievements.

Greats like Barry Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Abbas have evoked comparisons with Bradman. Incidentally, Tendulkar is the only batsman who Bradman himself felt batted like him.

Even the Australians rate the Indian as the best batsman ever to have graced the game after Bradman.

But the term 'Bradman-eque' seems to be used quite loosely in today’s times.

Sometime back, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum felt England’s Alastair Cook is the next best batsman after Bradman.

'Where he is at in his career at the moment, he is as good as anyone who has ever played the game, barring Bradman,' said McCullum.

On Wednesday, Australia opener Ed Cowan paid, possibly, the biggest tribute to Shikhar Dhawan, who hit the fastest Test century by a debutant, in Mohali, by comparing him to Bradman.

“He played like Don Bradman the other day. That was as good an innings as I have seen from any player in the world. The fact that he did it in his first Test innings -- he just had a day out and every batsman sometimes has a day out.

"It just happened to be his first crack at it. We bowled a lot of variety, he treated every ball on its merit and, at the same time, there was so little room for error. It was a hell of an innings,” Cowan said in Delhi.

Dhawan injured his hand while fielding and will miss the fourth and final Test, starting in Delhi on Friday.

Photograph: BCCI