'Making story of his own' - Dinesh Karthik's maiden T20I fifty powers India to strong total

India finished at169/6 in their first innings.

By Vaishnavi Thiagarajan Iyer

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Dinesh Karthik
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Dinesh Karthik. (Photo Source: ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP/Getty Images)

Dinesh Karthik enjoyed a memorable outing against the South African side in the fourth T20I at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot as he slammed his maiden T20I half-century. Being a part of the international arena for such a long time, Karthik scored his first-ever T20I fifty at the age of 37 to add another feather to his cap.

Coming to bat at no. six in the critical contest, Karthik made a mockery of Proteas bowlers, hitting a 27-ball 55. He played the finisher’s role with precision and added crucial runs towards the end, alongside Hardik Pandya when the team was struggling at a low total. He also registered the highest score by an Indian batter batting at No. 6 or lower position in T20Is, overtaking MS Dhoni’s 52* from 2018.

The wicketkeeper-batter made his debut for the national side back in the year 2004. However, he had been in and out of the team for a long time. Blame it on his luck, the prolific batter could not find a permanent place in the Indian squad, and whenever he did, he could not perform up to the mark. Before making an appearance in the Indian squad for the ongoing series, his last international apperance was recorded in the semi-finals against New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup.

Dinesh Karthik’s sensational form continues

Karthik’s form in the IPL 2022 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore is what earned him a chance to make a return. He featured in each and every game that RCB played this season, and in the 16 games, he notched up 330 runs at a brilliant strike rate of 183.33. Extending his purple patch, the veteran has made his bat talk in his comeback series as well.

Speaking of how the first innings panned out, India lost two wickets within the powerplay, and the third batter on the very first ball followed by the powerplay as South Africa gained command. It was the middle-order batting duo of Pandya and Karthik who anchored the innings and got India to a respectable total of 169 runs. But at a pitch that has witnessed high-scoring games, it will be a challenge for India to defend 170 runs against a strong South African batting lineup.

Meanwhile, let’s look at how Twitter reacted to Dinesh Karthik’s brilliance: 

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