Sri Lanka fans in the background are jubilant as India take a lap of honour, having beaten Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy 2018 final. Needing 12 to win off the last over, India lost Vijay Shankar on the penultimate ball but Karthik held his nerve to hit Soumya Sarkar for six, triggering wild celebrations in the dressing room. We needed that extra edge, and hopefully we will get better. Maybe the Bangladeshi had won the match on another day but yesterday’s final was destined to be won by India with Dinesh Karthik hitting the winning runs.
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“The most important thing he has is belief in himself. He thoroughly does his homework, looks at batsmen, makes his own ideas and gives the bowlers an opportunity to set the field and execute them”, says Karthik. I want to sit down with the coaches and decide which phase they want me to bat. “He’s got some different types of skill shots that would probably be required at that point at the death overs”. I thought even if he bowled badly, he would go for 15 runs. “He was upset with that, but he’ll be quite happy now how he finished off the game”. It’s no secret that India needs a couple of dependable middle order batsmen ahead of the 2019 World Cup and Karthik is someone who can fit the role. Moreover, as stated above, the main reason for him being out of the team was his bad luck at a time when his domestic career was reaching great heights. Shakib Al Hasan, Nazmul Islam, Soumya Sarkar and Mustafizur Rahman shared a wicket. “He has done it for his state team and also in the IPL”. Chahal picked up 3/18 in his 4 overs while Washington Sundar – who was also named the man-of-the-series – ended with figures of 1/20. She posted a picture of Karthik and added a hashtag “proud wife”.
However, this is an opportune time to take stock of the recently concluded Nidahas Trophy, which was put together by Sri Lanka with the objective of celebrating the country’s 70th independence anniversary.
But incoming batsman Lokesh Rahul (24) and Rohit forged a crucial 51-run partnership before Rahul was sent packing by Hossain in the 10th over.
Even if there may be one, Shakib, in the two matches that he lead the team, has shown enough aggression with his field setup and been proactive with his bowling changes to get the up-and-coming players to care.
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“He consistently bowled in the Powerplay, and always kept us in the games”. I was more shocked than angry – bit disappointed, yes. “This tournament will give him a lot of confidence”.
