SMAT20 2019-20: Dinesh Karthik disappointed but proud of his team as Tamil Nadu lose yet another final

Dinesh Karthik, the Indian cricketer and Tamil Nadu skipper heaped praises on his team for showcasing some great performances in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The 34-year-old led his domestic team to the finals but lost against Karnataka in an enthralling encounter by one run.

The Indian wicketkeeper, who is currently sidelined from Team India, is playing in the domestic tournament for Tamil Nadu. He has amassed 301 runs in 12 games at a strike rate of 126.47 with two half-centuries in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this season.

Tamil Nadu lost a close final to Karnataka

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka hold a strong rivalry in the Indian domestic tournaments which was clearly visible on the night of the final as well. Karthik won the toss and elected to field. But the decision seemed to backfire as Karnataka openers bashed their bowlers all across the park in the first couple of overs.

A brilliant display in bowling by veteran Ravichandran Ashwin brought his side back in the game, who dismissed the dangerous KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal on two consecutive deliveries in his third over. Later on, a captain’s knock from Manish Pandey (60 off 45 balls) helped Karnataka post a competitive total of 180 runs. For Tamil Nadu, Ashwin and T Natrajan took two wickets each with Washington Sundar joining them with a sole dismissal.

During the chase, Tamil Nadu gave a tough fight on the knocks of Vijay Shankar (44 off 27 balls) and Baba Aprajith (40 runs off 25 balls). In the latter stages of the game, Ashwin also played a small cameo of 16 runs in 9 balls but failed in clinching the trophy for his team. They lost the crucial game by a margin of just one run. For Karnataka, Ronit More was the pick of the bowlers, who registered bowling figures of 2/32.

Dinesh Karthik hails Tamil Nadu’s team performance in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Dinesh Karthik shared two posts with a heartwarming message after losing the finals of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The wicket-keeper thanked all the team members for playing with the right spirit and contentment in the tournament.

He also added that winning or losing is a part of the game but what matter is their perspectives. However, everyone in the team should pick out the positives in every situation. The Indian cricketer also felt that the young players are supremely talented, who showed their compassion while playing for Tamil Nadu.

In his first post, he wrote, “The picture pretty much sums up our last 3 months, lots of smiles, contentment, spirit, happiness, light and yet a touch of darkness on losing both the finals. But that’s a sport, as in life, PERSPECTIVE matters. Positives outweigh the negatives.”

Followed by his second post that read, “But that’s a sport, as in life, PERSPECTIVE matters. Positives outweigh the negatives. Lots of talent and most importantly, tremendous character and resilience showed by TEAM TAMIL NADU.”

Here are the posts from Dinesh Karthik: