One, a former India Wicket-Keeper; the other, an upcoming Wicket-Keeper from Jharkhand, the same state Mahendra Singh Dhoni hails from; One, a talented and a stunner-of-a-technician with the bat; other, a powerful, hard-hitting southpaw with unconventional technique.
Dinesh Karthik, a few months back, was a former India Wicket-Keeper Batsman who was almost fading away from public memory before a flurry of incredible individual performances in the domestic leagues spluttered his career back to life. Ishan Kishan, the eighteen-year talented wicket-keeper batsman from Jharkhand, has been in the news for the right reasons. He led the Under-19 India Team to the finals of the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh. Karthik, who was one of the most promising youngsters when he made his national debut against England in 2004 and has been in and out of the Team since then, mostly because of inconsistent performances. And once Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his debut, let alone Karthik, no keeper looked like getting close to the National Team for a good 7-8 years. With Dhoni in the twilight of his career, the place is up for grabs again and Karthik is doing things right to claim it. Even just as a middle order batsman, Karthik has done everything right.
Karthik, who was one of the most promising youngsters when he made his national debut against England in 2004 and has been in and out of the Team since then, mostly because of inconsistent performances. And once Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his debut, let alone Karthik, no keeper looked like getting close to the National Team for a good 7-8 years. With Dhoni in the twilight of his career, the place is up for grabs again and Karthik is doing things right to claim it. Even just as a middle order batsman, Karthik has done everything right.
The two now play for the same Team – Gujarat Lions, with similar objectives – while Karthik wants to make a strong case for his comeback in the National Side, Kishan wants to further strengthen his argument for a national call up. And both of them have been doing it right so far. Dinesh Karthik has started off from where he left in the domestic season – he has looked tremendously comfortable in the IPL and has scored runs almost at will. Karthik now has 129 runs off 5 matches at an average of 32.25 and a wonderful strike-rate of 140.21. He is yet to get a 50 (his high score in this IPL has been 48*) but has looked like getting one every time he has walked in. He’s hitting the ball well and his footwork has been that of a batsman high on confidence and self-belief. He always had great technique and it has sort of accentuated with great form.
Dinesh Karthik has started off from where he left in the domestic season – he has looked tremendously comfortable in the IPL and has scored runs almost at will. Karthik now has 129 runs off 5 matches at an average of 32.25 and a wonderful strike-rate of 140.21. He is yet to get a 50 (his high score in this IPL has been 48*) but has looked like getting one every time he has walked in. He’s hitting the ball well and his footwork has been that of a batsman high on confidence and self-belief. He always had great technique and it has sort of accentuated with great form.
Ishan Kishan, on the other hand, played just in his second IPL game last night, and made a mark straightaway, scoring a dazzling 39 off 16 balls. These runs might have come in a losing cause, as when the southpaw walked in, the required rate was already around 21. In spite of Kishan’s phenomenal hitting, GL were left with 26 to get off the last over, such high had the required rate gone after McCullum’s dismissal. Kishan, though, was the cynosure of everyone’s eyes as he played a few stunning strokes.
With just 1 win out of 5 games, the Gujarat Lions sit silently at the bottom of the table and need to get their act together and win a few on the trot to get their campaign back on track. They opened with Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum yesterday and lost Smith right in the second over. Raina walked in and played a few beautiful strokes, reaching 23 off just 7, before getting out to Chahal. These two dismissals put GL on the
They opened with Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum yesterday and lost Smith right in the second over. Raina walked in and played a few beautiful strokes, reaching 23 off just 7, before getting out to Chahal. These two dismissals put GL on the back foot right away, as they were chasing a humongous 214 and needed to develop a good, brisk partnership in the powerplay. With Dinesh Karthik in great form, it could do GL
These two dismissals put GL on the back foot right away, as they were chasing a humongous 214 and needed to develop a good, brisk partnership in the powerplay. With Dinesh Karthik in great form, it could do GL a world of good if they let Karthik open with Brendon McCullum and push Smith, who hasn’t been in great touch, lower down the order. Smith’s power-hitting could be handy in the death overs and this will also save Smith from facing the new ball, especially considering his poor form. Ishan Kishan, then, could be given the role of batting at number 5, as this will give the southpaw a bit more time to settle down.
To instill some sort of self-belief in the team, the Lions need to stop shuffling and playing around with their batting order and need to settle down on one line-up. Last minute changes are fine as per the circumstances, but changing the batting line-up right at the beginning of every game doesn’t augur well for the Team combination as well as the overall morale in the camp.
A well-settled batting unit will yield much-needed stability to the flimsy looking, beleaguered Team. And rather than changing the opening combination every game, bringing in your in-form player to open (Karthik has had experience as an opener) will be a win-win for both – the team as well as the player. The Gujarat Lions need to pull up their socks and sort out their problems as soon as possible, because they have already lost four games, and need to win seven of their next nine to stay in the league.
