Nidahas Trophy | Dinesh Karthik gives ball-by-ball account of heroic 29-run feat in final
getty
Dinesh Karthik became a hero overnight after his heroic feat of 29 runs in eight balls helped India win the Nidahas Trophy final by the skin of their teeth against Bangladesh. After the victory, the middle-order batsman was happy to give a ball-by-ball account of the last two nerve-wracking overs.
After Manish Pandey was caught by Sabbir Rahman at long-on following Vijay Shankar’s frustrating 1-run stint in the first five balls of 18th over, India’s hopes of winning the trophy were all but gone. In the absence of pinch-hitters like MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya down the batting order, the incoming Karthik had hardly arisen any hopes among the India and the Sri Lankan crowd.
However, the 32-year-old showed how invaluable experience could be as he slammed Rubel Hossain for 22 runs in the 19th over before sealing the match with a last-ball six to keep India’s perfect record against Bangladesh in T20Is intact.
Hossain, who had given just 13 runs in his last two overs, was welcomed with a maximum on the first ball with Karthik letting his intentions known very early. When asked about it, Karthik revealed after the game in the presentation ceremony, “The previous
While his first ball showed brute strength, the technically gifted player was all class since then that was reflected in his shots. He slugged the second ball for a boundary at long-on with the fielder at the ropes deceived by the pace and bounce off the shot.
“I just wanted to hit that ball in the gap; so I stood still, used my crease so that I can find the gap, luckily the ball landed where I could hit a four,” said Karthik.
With 10 runs from two balls, the crowd had gotten their voice back and Karthik gave them more reasons to do so as he showed impeccable power and timing off a length angling ball into the deep square leg fence.
“I knew he was not going for a yorker as he was already hit. So I stayed deep in the crease. It kind of clicked."
The onslaught, however, wasn’t to continue for the next two balls as he could manage just two runs in them. But, Karthik brought India closer to the target with a magnificent four on the last ball of that over as he sent Hossain for a boundary over the
“I wanted to get four off every ball and I didn’t try to hit big sixes, finding gaps was more important. I have worked on how to use crease positions – Abhishek Nayar has been the sole man behind that development. I moved way down leg, probably last moment I knew he will try to bowl a bit fuller at off-stump but soon I got into a position where I could scoop the ball. I guess I was one step ahead when it came to thinking,” Karthik revealed.
The last over saw Karthik getting only two balls with Shankar struggling yet again at the other side. After Shankar managed to squeeze in a single to Karthik on the second ball, the veteran survived a late scare as he dealt with a Soumya Sarkar yorker to manage a single. And Karthik later appreciated the bowler, who has become a villain in Bangladesh overnight.
“I got a good yorker which landed perfectly where the bowler wanted it to. This time also, I had gone a bit behind in the crease,” said Karthik.
However, for all the criticisms hurled at Shankar for his lackluster innings, it would be difficult to estimate if India would have won had he not got an unlikely boundary on the fourth ball before getting out on the fifth ball. With five runs needed on the last ball, Karthik scooped Sarkar over extra cover as the crowd erupted in joy.
“I know I connected very well and it really went very flat. As soon as I hit, I got the feeling it’s going because the ball had hit the
