16 year after being the Man of the Match in India’s first-ever T20I match, which was way back in 2006, Dinesh Karthik continues to do the finishing role for the Men In Blue on his return to the national side after being away from the team for the last three years.
His thrilling show in the IPL 2022 – where he struck 330 runs at a strike rate of 183 and was the clear best finisher in the season – earned him a call back for the South Africa T20I series.
In the four matches so far, Karthik has twice bailed Team India out of trouble and gave them a late flourish with his finishing touches. In Cuttack, he scored 30* off 21 balls to take the side to 148, which they failed to defend.
In Rajkot, Karthik’s experience and skillset in the death overs came to the fore as he notched up his maiden T20I fifty, his knock of 55 runs from 27 balls propelling India to 169 in a must-win game. DK’s innings was laced with 9 fours and a couple of hits over the fence.
DK the saviour once again
He came in to bat in the 13th over – which many feel is around about the perfect entry point for him – at India’s score of 81/4. Karthik then was involved in a brilliant partnership with Hardik Pandya which yielded 65 runs off 33 balls, of which Karthik scored 43 runs off 22 balls.
After Pandya’s dismissal, Karthik further smashed 12 runs off 5 balls to take India to what seemed like an above-par total on a pitch that was slowing down and also offered grip to spinners.
The most striking feature about Karthik’s innings today was his clear-headedness in shot selection while also keeping in mind that there was little batting to come after him. His confidence shone in his strokes. Confidence of a man who is ready to take on the world once again. Who is willing to win the T20 World Cup for his country.
Such fire in DK’s batting is what Chloe-Amanda Bailey, a renowned Australian journalist, has been swooning over, as she tweeted: “Dinesh Karthik is an absolute weapon at the crease (fire emoji).”
Here, check out Chloe-Amanda Bailey’s special tweet for Dinesh Karthik:
Dinesh Karthik is an absolute weapon at the crease
#INDvSA
— Chloe-Amanda Bailey (@ChloeAmandaB) June 17, 2022
