We have got depth in our side: Shikhar Dhawan

Dhawan made a 53-ball 73 in the chase against South Africa in a warm-up tie in Mumbai. © Getty

Shikhar Dhawan is confident of India doing well in the ICC World Twenty20 despite losing the final warm-up match by four runs to South Africa on Saturday (March 13) at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. He believes that the new-found depth in the batting and bowling department with Hardik Pandya's inclusion will help the side.

"We have got depth in our side in both batting and bowling," he said. "We also have got a very good allrounder in Hardik (Pandya) who is performing. He just came in the side and have been performing from the word go. That is a big positive and we have got experience now in our side."

Chasing 197, India fell short by four runs but Dhawan spent some valuable time in the middle while making 73 from 53 balls before retiring. "As (an) individual, it was a good learning for me as I batted till the 15th-16th over, so with my calculation for the next coming games, I will be more better. It was a good learning for me and I got more wiser," he acknowledged.

He was also unperturbed about India's inability to finish off the chase and insisted the team would learn from this game. "Certainly, these are normal things. It does not happen that the best finishers will always guarantee you to complete the task," he pointed out. "Everyone gave their best and that's what matters. We were chasing such a big total, and wickets fell early on, after that there was a good partnership and came so close. It was only a matter of two runs. We learnt a lot from this game. What we have learnt today, will be implemented in the future."

The 30-year-old admits that his side are the favourites to win the tournament and will have to cope up with the pressure. "We stay close as a family. We'll try to share the burden of expectation as a group and not individuals," gushed Dhawan. "We are playing at home and expectations of home crowds will always be there.We are also used to that.

"Yuvi pa's (Yuvraj Singh) presence makes huge difference for all youngsters and of course their experience comes in handy. Because of all these reasons, I feel why everyone is rating us the best. We guys have been winning consistently and from those wins we are getting a lot of confidence and we are building our confidence game after game."

He also went on to reveal that the management decided to try out various combinations in the bowling department ahead of the main tournament. "We guys were trying combinations, like Bhajji pa (Harbhajan Singh) bowled the first over. I guess that's how we are trying and it's good everyone is getting a game and getting used to the pressure, the wickets."

India will take on New Zealand in the first game of the Super 10 stage on Tuesday (March 15) and the Delhi batsman insists that his side are ready for the challenge."We have earlier played against them. We know the strengths of their particular batsman and bowler. We are ready for the game."

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