It feels great to be back amongst the runs: Shikhar Dhawan

Adelaide: India opener Shikhar Dhawan expressed satisfaction to be back among runs ahead of the cricket World Cup after snapping his prolonged run drought with a fifty against Australia in their first warm-up game.

In India's mammoth run-chase of 372, Dhawan looked confident and determined as he blasted five fours in his 71-ball 59. "It feels great to be back amongst the runs. More than the runs I am more satisfied with the way the ball is coming off my bat. Today (Sunday) the ball went in the places I wanted to hit and with the ease with which I wanted it to," Dhawan said in an exclusive chat with bcci.tv.

Talking about his shot selection, Dhawan said he enjoyed playing a cover drive against Mitchell Marsh. "There were a range of shots that I enjoyed playing today, but it was the cover drive that I hit off Mitchell Marsh that made me feel really good. The moment it left my bat it raced away to the extra cover region for a boundary, piercing the field. The highlight of the shot was that it was effortless; and when shots come effortlessly, the joy of it is completely different," he said.

Dhawan said he is hungry for runs and his innings should keep him in good stead. "The hunger for runs is always there irrespective of whether I was getting runs or not. The want to get more runs increases when there is a dearth of it. At those times it is important to be patient and keep your calm. You've got to believe in yourself that you will get the runs for your team," he said.

"When I walk out to bat, I never think that today is my day or tomorrow it will be. Over the past two months that I have been here in Australia I have only made sure that I concentrate on the process rather than thinking about the result. I have learnt a lot from these two months and I have treated my successes and failures equally,” Dhawan added.

"When things don't go your way it bites you from within and you have to find a way to get out of it. Those failures have made me stronger and I believe I know my game a lot better now than before," he said.