Making a comeback into the Indian team is not an easy task. If one is getting back in as a pure batsman, that task becomes even tougher, because there are always a talented few waiting on the wings. And then, to bat at No. 4, a position that has been difficult for India in the ODI format post the 2015 World Cup, it's even more tougher.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2017/oct/dhawanshot.jpg" alt="" /> Shikhar Dhawan during his 68-run knock against New Zealand in Pune yesterday. Pic /AFP
To his credit, Dinesh Karthik handled all that pressure well yesterday, scoring an unbeaten half century to see India home against New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium here. It wasn't Karthik's most fluent innings; boundaries didn't fly off his bat from the word go. In fact, he hit only four fours in his 92-ball stay at the crease on a track where scoring got tougher as the ball got softer. But Karthik did exactly what the team needed in that situation.
Coming in to bat at 79-2 in a chase of 231, Karthik made sure that there was no further damage, with Shikhar Dhawan going strong at the other end. "It was a slow pitch, after the new ball, scoring runs was tricky. So I wanted us not to lose wickets," Karthik said after the game.
In his 64-run knock, Karthik tried only one wild slog, and that too, probably, because he felt that there were not enough fielders inside the circle and so the ball would be declared a no-ball.
<img src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2017/oct/Karthik-batting.jpg" alt="" /> Dinesh Karthik en route his unbeaten 64 yesterday. Pic/ PTI
And although he didn't quite hit the ball out of the park regularly, he didn't block the flow of runs either, putting the ball in the gaps and running hard. "What Dinesh did today was he rotated the strike very well. I wasn't able to rotate it as well as I normally do, but Dinesh did it well and that took the pressure off me," Shikhar Dhawan acknowledged at the post-match press conference last night.
India has tried different players in the crucial No. 4 slot in the ODI side across the last couple of years. KL Rahul, Manish Pandey and Kedar Jadhav have been given sporadic opportunities in that spot in the recent past. But neither of them have been able to make that spot their own. The slot requires versatility&acirc;u00c2u0080u00c2u0088-- different skills in different situations. "I have to win more matches, when the required rate is high. I need to score more boundaries and win those games," Karthik said. Though it's a long way before the Tamil Nadu player seals this slot, for now, he seems to have earned a few more games for himself in that position.

Making a comeback into the Indian team is not an easy task. If one is getting back in as a pure batsman, that task becomes even tougher, because there are always a talented few waiting on the wings

Shikhar Dhawan: Dinesh Karthik took away all my pressure

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Shikhar Dhawan: Dinesh Karthik took away all my pressure

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