Top 5 T20 knocks of Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik is one of the few players who were unlucky to born in the MS Dhoni era. Though DK made his debut in 2004, his place in the Indian team was not regular. He has been in and out of the side for the past 14 years. But still, he works hard every time and trying hard to get a place in the team. In case you don’t know, DK is one of the 8 Indians who have crossed 5000 runs in T20 format. He averages 27.19 and his strike rate is 132.52 in the T20 format. 2018 has been a good year for DK as he played a quite a lot of matches for the Indian side in all the three formats. With Dhoni nearing the end of his career DK is seen as an option to replace him in the T20I side.

Here we look at the top 5 innings of DK in his T20 career:

#5 31*(28) vs South Africa in Johannesburg

DK played India’s first ever international T20 match. India toured South Africa for 5 ODIs, 3 Tests and a T20 match in late 2006.

The hosts South Africa batted first and scored 126 for 9 in 20 overs. India was reduced to 71 for 3 in the 12th over when DK came to bat at number 5. He added 37 runs with Dinesh Mongia who scored a 45-ball 38 runs. Then DK combined with Suresh Raina and helped India to win the match. India won by 6 wickets with a ball to spare. DK remained not out for 31 off 28 balls with 3 fours and a six and was named Man of the Match for his contribution.

He remained a part of the Indian T20 side and went on to play two games at inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup which India won by beating arch-rivals Pakistan.

#4 56*(32) vs Mumbai Indians in Delhi

Dinesh Karthik was bought by Delhi Daredevils for the inaugural season of IPL for 2.1 crores. DK didn't have a good IPL 2008 until the last league game for DD, in which they needed to beat Mumbai to qualify for the semi-finals.

Batting first Mumbai scored 176 runs in 20 overs with Jayasurya top scoring 66 and Uthappa scoring 46. Needing 177 to win the match and to stay in the IPL, Delhi started positively but lost the wickets of Dhawan, Sehwag, Dilshan and Gambhir by the end of 11th over with the scoreboard reading 89. They still needed 88 runs to in 9 overs.

DK came in at number 5 and joined hands with Manoj Tiwary, who scored 36. The duo added 41 runs in 4 overs. With 47 runs needed off the last 5. Karthik scored his first ever IPL fifty. He added an unbeaten 49 runs with Farveez Maharoof, who scored 20 runs. DK was unbeaten at 56 of 32 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes and was named Man of the match for his knock.

Sadly he couldn’t help DD side win the semi-finals as they lost by a huge margin against a Rajasthan side, who went on to win the inaugural IPL

#3 86 (48) vs Delhi Daredevils in Mumbai

Fast forward five years, Dinesh Karthik was seen playing for Mumbai Indians in the 6th season of IPL. This knock came against his former team.

Batting first, MI lost Ricky Ponting in the last ball of first over. Dinesh Karthik came in at number 3 but calamity struck soon as Sachin was run out in the next over. Delhi thought they were in control of the game with two quick wickets but DK and new man Rohit Sharma had other ideas.

They added 132 runs in 79 balls with DK doing the most of the damage. DK scored a 48-ball 86 which included 14 fours and 2 sixes at a strike rate of 179.17. This was his highest score in IPL. Mumbai posted a score of 209 and won the match by a margin of 44 runs. DK was named the Man of the Match for that innings.

He ended the season with 510 runs which still remain his best for a single edition of IPL. He won the IPL and the Champions League T20 tournament that year with Mumbai Indians. But he was not retained by Mumbai for the next year IPL and was bought back by Delhi for a whopping Rs. 10.5 crores.

#4 52(38) vs Rajasthan Royals in Kolkata

Fast forward another five years, Dinesh Karthik was picked up by Kolkata in the auction and was named as their captain. It was a tough task to fill the boots of Gautam Gambhir, who helped KKR win two IPL titles. DK proved his worth by scoring 498 runs his second-best aggregate after the 2013 edition. He was given the role of a finisher and he played it to perfection.

In eliminator between KKR and RR, Rahane won the toss and asked DK-led KKR to bat first. KKR lost 4 wickets for the score of just 51 in 8 overs. DK knew that he needs to bat well to save his side. He added 55 of 40 balls with Shubman Gill and added 29 in 17 balls with Andre Russell. DK completed his fifty with a six over the keepers head but got out for 52 off 38 balls. KKR ended up on 169 and won the match by 25 runs.

Though DK was not the MOTM, his knock helped KKR to post a decent score and qualify for the 2nd playoff. KKR lost the match against the eventual runners-up SRH. DK was named in the IPL XI of 2018.

#5 29*(8) vs Bangladesh in Colombo

India were on the verge of facing a defeat to Bangladesh in the final of Nidahas trophy. Dinesh Karthik came in at number 7 after India sent Vijay Shankar ahead of him in the chase of 167 runs. India needed 34 runs in 12 balls. Most of the fans thought that Bangladesh would win the match. But DK had other ideas.

Rubel Hussain bowled the 19th over. His figures were 2 for 13 after 3 overs. DK was on strike in that over. He smoked a six over the head off long-on in the first ball, then he scored a boundary off the next ball. Then he slogged the third ball for a six over mid-wicket. DK then scooped a four over the short fine leg fielder. He scored 22 runs in that over. Rubel ended his spell at 2 for 35. With 5 required off the last ball, DK did a Dhoni!!! He scored a flat six over extra cover off the last ball of the match to win the match and the Nidahas trophy for India. He scored 29 off 8 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes.