Shikhar Dhawan, if he had a magic lamp and could make three wishes, every single one of them would be – let every match be a match in the Champions Trophy. Because you know if Dhawan bats in the ICC Champions Trophy, he will score runs, and a lot of them.
After starting the 2017 edition of the tournament with a fluent 68, Dhawan, the man of the series when this tournament was last played four years ago, went a lot better in India's second match, against Sri Lanka, notching a quite brilliant century at The Oval.
That hundred was his third in the Champions Trophy, putting him joint top in the tournament's history alongside Herschelle Gibbs, Chris Gayle and another gorgeous-to-watch Indian opener in Sourav Ganguly.
After seeing South Africa capitulate against Pakistan, India would have been a little wary of getting caught in the upset storm, but the openers, led by Dhawan (125, 128b, 15x4, 1x6), calmed those early nerves down to set India on their way.
Dhawan was the main man in India's opening partnership against Pakistan, playing all the aggressive shots and taking the pressure off Rohit Sharma, who was just easing himself back into international cricket.
But this time, against Sri Lanka, the roles were reversed. While Dhawan looked good, Rohit looked better, scorching those boundaries through the offside, while bringing that pull shot of his into play as well to hit a few big ones.
Eventually, that pull shot would lead to his demise, and after Virat Kohli fell for a duck, much to the India-supporting crowd's dismay, Dhawan turned it on, and in such wonderful fashion too.
Even after Yuvraj Singh fell cheaply, Dhawan continued his merry way, with the left-hander finding the perfect partner at the other end in MS Dhoni, the man who exudes calm and not-of-this-world efficiency.
The ease with which Dhawan hits the drives and pull shots and pickup shots and square cuts is brilliant to watch – you can hit the replay button and watch those shots over and over again.
There were plenty of those on view at The Oval on Thursday, with the left-hander playing the big innings that India needed to get to a big score.
Having been put into bat, it was imperative for India to put the pressure back on Sri Lanka, and thanks to Dhawan and his ability to play the big knocks, they did just that.
There were plenty of questions raised over Dhawan's selection into this India squad, considering he has been more miss than hit in India colours of late, but there is a reason why the captain, coach and selectors keep backing him – he is a match-winner, and match-winners don't come along that easily.
Whenever Dhawan sparkles with the bat, India invariably win, and the man from Delhi certainly likes to get his mojo on in the Champions Trophy.
