With a member of the support staff feeding balls to a bowling machine, Dhawan chose to work on leaving balls outside off stump. "Sirf naya ball dalna, purana nahi (feed the machine only new balls, not old ones)," he shouted at one point.
The machine offered accuracy of line, and Dhawan worked on letting it go. Ball after ball after ball. Only once his patience faltered and he smashed the ball like he had been nursing a year's grudge.
"Ab thoda andar dalo (Now bring the line slightly in)," he finally said, and worked on his forward defence. The only other player looking on was Mohammad Shami, playfully juggling a ball in his hands.
The others, including coach Duncan Fletcher and director Ravi Shastri, were out in the sun, working on Varun Aaron. No one was at hand to offer Dhawan advice. Perhaps it's best that way for an established batsman, to forge a lonely path around his shortcomings.
Dhawan scores a nice percentage of his runs on the off side but he had problems against the moving ball in England. While his opening partner Murali Vijay came away from Adelaide with reputation enhanced, Dhawan could do with a few tall scores under his belt.
He was unfortunate to be given out in the second innings in Adelaide, but in the first he fell in familiar fashion, driving on the up and dragging one on to the stumps.
Dhawan comes across as a happy-go-lucky character who enjoys playing to his strengths, but can't be too bothered addressing his weaknesses. But looks can be deceiving. "You have to get used to the situation and the bounce, and that is what we work on. I don't want to talk about my technique in public. Experts say what they will. I try to enjoy both success and failure. If I'm doing some mistake, I'm open to change," he says.
In Australia, he can trust the bounce, so Dhawan is working on his patience. Batsmen are guarded about their techniques and don't like being asked probing questions on the issue. But India haven't had a 50-run opening partnership away from home since July 2011. They have not posted a 50-run opening stand in Australia since January 2008, when Virender Sehwag and Wasim Jaffer put on 57 in Perth.
Dhawan may enjoy a long rope, since he has played eight of 11 Tests away from home in unfamiliar conditions, where it is difficult to score. But since the 98 in Wellington in February, his scores have read 2, 12, 29, 7, 31, 6, 37, 25 and 9. The Gabba trial is next. Another mediocre score may start raising eyebrows.
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