Appreciating Indian cricket's senior pro Dinesh Karthik, whose last-ball six against Bangladesh has made him part of cricket folklore
India's Dinesh Karthik during the ICC Champions Trophy Group B match against West Indies at The Oval in London on June 11, 2013. Pic/Getty Images
The recently-concluded tri-series in Sri Lanka provided Twenty20 cricket lovers some wholesome entertainment, except for the ugly ending to the Sri Lanka v Bangladesh game on Friday when the visitors behaved like a bunch of spoilt kids on and off the field.
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Two days later, Dinesh Karthik's last-ball six brought back memories of Javed Miandad's hit off Chetan Sharma in the 1986 Austral-Asia Cup final at Sharjah and, like Pakistan's win then, India's triumph will go down in cricket folklore. Before his final blow, Karthik had scored 23 off seven balls with two fours and an equal number of sixes. With that kind of an innings, he thoroughly deserved to get into a position to be a last-ball hero.
I shudder to think what would have happened had he not managed to bludgeon one over the off-side fence to stun the R Premadasa Stadium crowd. Who would be the villain of the piece then? Karthik or Vijay Shankar, who had failed to score a run off four consecutive deliveries from Mustafizur Rahman in the 18th over of the innings. Another dot ball came in the final over.
Karthik's match-clinching six not only got India out of jail, it also saved Shankar (his fellow Tamil Nadu player) some serious condemnation. Had India lost, the critics would point to those five dot balls, never mind the fact that he did well to pierce the field between point and third man for a boundary in the fourth ball of the final over to bring the equation down to a match-winning possibility — five runs off two balls before the rookie got out.
Twenty20 cricket is highly emotive. Heroes are exalted, but those who fail can suffer deep scars. Shankar is a talented cricketer and it would be a shame to see him experience nightmares. Fate and sport have forever been linked and, on Sunday, fate ultimately smiled a bit on Shankar. Of course, he has Karthik to thank. The wicketkeeper-batsman could now command a regular place in the side (at least for a while) even when the regulars return in both formats of the limited overs game.
Karthik, 32, has come a long way. He first played for India in the English summer of 2004. As a 19-year-old ODI debutant he came up with an outstanding stumping effort that sent back England captain Michael Vaughan off Harbhajan Singh and contributed to India's 23-run win in a dead rubber at Lord's.
Although they have played in the same XI on many occasions, Karthik's opportunities would have been far greater had MS Dhoni not gone on to become India's premier glovesman. Dhoni will remember the screamer Karthik took at slip, diving to his left, to send back South Africa captain Graeme Smith at Durban during his triumphant World T20 in 2007. And, on the tour of England a few months prior to that event, Karthik formed an able opening pair with Wasim Jaffer to play his part in India's first Test series win in England since 1986.
At Trent Bridge, the Test which India won, the duo put on 147 for the opening wicket in the first innings. It was India's first three-figure opening stand in England since their 1979 tour, when Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan put on 213 at The Oval in London.
Wisden of 2008 termed the Jaffer-Karthik association a turning point in the Test (India's fifth Test win in England until then). "The batsmen kept getting beaten, but kept hitting fours. Every passing minute made their confidence grow in equal measure to England's desperation," wrote Ravi Shastri in the Almanack. Sitting in the Nottingham press box on the third day of the Test I gave in to a bit of flippancy: "Even Robin Hood would have been proud of India at Nottingham on Saturday." Jaffer, coincidently in the news now for his epic Irani Cup innings of 286 at the same time as Karthik's last-ball six, scored 62; while his then partner had to depart for 77 through a diving catch by Alastair Cook off Monty Panesar.
In the final Test at The Oval, Karthik was nine short of becoming India's first centurion of the series, but wicketkeeper Matt Prior held his nick off Ryan Sidebottom. Dhoni came close too — 92 — and finally, Kumble did it. At The Oval, Karthik impressed England's retired star Graeme Thorpe, the batsman whom Karthik idolised in his childhood. "I enjoyed watching him bat. At times, he reminded me of Michael Slater," Thorpe said, expressing confidence that Karthik would serve India for five to 10 years.
Nearly 11 years down the line, DK is proving that he still has a lot to offer. In his own words, while commenting on the finisher's role performed all these years by Dhoni, he is a, "student in a University where Dhoni is a topper."
mid-day's group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance. He tweets @ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
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