Veteran India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik is known for his big-hitting skills and it was seen again in India’s 2nd T20I match vs Australia at Nagpur as he hit 10 off just 2 balls to finish the game for his side on Friday. Karthik, came out to bat in the final over of the 8-over game when they were needed to score 9 runs against Daniel Sams and he showed his class once again.
Speaking at the press conference after the match, Karthik said, “Look, I think over a period of time I’ve been practicing for this. I’ve been doing it for RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore) now, and I’m happy doing it here. So it’s a consistent routine over a period of time, the kind of, you know, when I get off time, I do a lot of scenario practices.”
“You know, Vikram (Rathour) and Rahul (Dravid) have also been accommodating of how I want to practice. What are the kind of shots I want to practice, so I’ve been very specific with it. I don’t practice too much, but I try and keep it as specific as possible. I did not take any credit (away from Rohit Sharma). Rohit Sharma batted brilliantly. I just went there, got two balls and whatever I tried it came off…but Rohit Sharma today played a brilliant innings. I think against a new ball, on that wicket, against world class bowlers and to play the kind of shots he played is not easy at all. It shows why Rohit Sharma is such a big player not only in Indian cricket but also in world cricket. His ability to play fast bowling is second to none in this world, and that’s what makes him really special as a batsman,” Dinesh Karthik concluded.
He also revealed that both teams really wanted to play the game in Nagpur, where the crowd has come at every leg of the team’s journey.
“Look, I think we were very, very keen to play for one reason and one reason only. I think from the time we started from the hotel right up to the ground, there was crowds throughout. It actually… You know, we took more time than we actually should have to reach the ground. So the amount of people that were standing in the ground, we knew that it was a special occasion for us,” Karthik again said.
However, the win at Nagpur levelled the series and both the teams will now be travelling to Hyderabad to play the decider. After the Australia series India will play South Africa at home, and will then travel to Australia for the T20 World Cup.
