Seasoned wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik revealed it was his bat from which Rohit Sharma scored his maiden international half-century during T20 World Cup 2007.

A young Rohit Sharma was included in the Indian team back in 2007 and showcased his prodigy to world cricket without wasting any time. His batting technique looked sound to the cricket experts but his inability to perform with consistency saw him being axed from the team.

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Rohit was included in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2007. India were in dire straight against host South Africa in a virtual quarterfinal during the tournament. Dinesh Karthik bagged a golden duck in that game and was furious with his bat. Rohit came to bat when the score was 33/3 and he changed the course of the game.

He scored match-defining 50 runs off 40 balls, where he hit seven fours and two sixes against a bowling lineup featuring Shaun Pollack, Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel.

Karthik talked about this incident during the chat show of Gaurav Kapoor.

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“His first-ever international fifty was with my bat. I am very proud of that. Yeah, I was batting with it, I told Rohit, ‘What a s*** bat’ and he said, ‘What? You think this bat is not good enough? Give it to me,” Karthik said on Breakfast with Champions.

“So, I gave it to him. That day (need to give him credit) he just walked in straight with the bat in South Africa during World Cup and he played amazing innings. No credit to my bat, obviously the batsman but still. I remember all those kinds of things and these kinds of things mean a lot to me.”

That half-century by Rohit Sharma helped India to win the game as well as the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in South Africa.