Karthik’s moment in sun

Colombo, March 19 

Dinesh Karthik is no Hrishikesh Kanitkar or Joginder Sharma but the wicketkeeper-batsman is not complaining about the “memories of a lifetime” that his last-ball six against Bangladesh has created. 

Kanitkar’s match-winning boundary against Pakistan under the fading Bangabandhu Stadium lights in Dhaka and Sharma’s last over against the same opposition in the inaugural World T20 at the Wanderers were one-off acts that made them household names. Karthik, on the other hand, has done a lot more than Kanitkar and Sharma on international stage but, until Sunday, he was yet to have that defining moment in his career that every cricketer craves for.

And when the opportunity to create that moment finally came, Karthik made the most of it. Needing five runs off the final delivery in the Tri-series final, Karthik smashed Soumya Sarkar over extra-cover for a six to hand India the trophy. Becoming only the second player after Javed Miandad to win a final with a last-ball six, Karthik was simply ecstatic. “It’s an amazing feeling. These are things which remain in your memory for a lifetime,” Karthik told the BCCI website after the match. “It’s been a great journey for the past one year and I am very happy to be a part of this. We have put in a lot of hard work and it’s good to have won the tournament at the end of it all.”

Boundary every ball

So, what was his plan in the last two overs? “At that stage, all I was trying to do was hit a boundary of every ball. I was positioning myself in the crease, and it paid off,” said the 32-year-old.

Karthik expressed surprise over the overwhelming support India received from the Sri Lankan fans in the final. “We didn’t expect so many people would turn up for the India-Bangladesh final as there weren’t too many people during our league game. I was really happy with the support and it helped while batting,” said Karthik.

Karthik was upset he didn’t get to bat at No. 6: Rohit

Dinesh Karthik is always ready to deliver whatever the situation may be and his experience and repertoire of strokes make him a suitable candidate to provide the final flourish, said skipper Rohit Sharma. “To do what he did today will give him a lot of confidence going forward,” said Sharma.

Sharma revealed Karthik was not happy batting down the order but the Indian skipper defended his decision of sending him at No. 7, saying his experience and skills made him a suitable candidate to provide the late charge. “Dinesh was upset that he didn’t get to bat at No. 6. I told him, ‘I want you finish off the game, the skills you have will be required in the last three or four overs’. That is the only reason he didn’t come out to bat at No. 6 when I got out in the 13th over. He was upset with that, but he’ll be quite happy now.”

Lavishing praise on Karthik, Sharma said, “He has the skill set to finish off the games. I thought Mustafizur would bowl probably the 18th and the 20th overs, and we wanted an experienced guy to handle him.” — Agencies