Dinesh Karthik took India to victory with a six off the last ball of the match. (Source: AP)
Dinesh Karthik gave the Nidahas Trophy the kind of end that seemed straight out of a movie script. India needed five runs to win off the last ball of the match and Karthik was on strike. A six was the only way India could win the match and a six it was that Karthik hit. That was part of an extraordinary 8-ball innings that ended up overshadowing all the others that came before it, including that of Rohit Sharma who scored his 14th half century. Here is a low-down of Karthik’s innings:
17.6 Overs: Manish Pandey is dismissed for 28 by Mustafizur Rahim. Before that, Mustafizur forced Vijay Shankar to play away four consecutive dot balls. When Shankar managed to rotate strike, it was from a leg bye which meant that Mistafizur managed to bowl a maiden wicket over. Dinesh Karthik walks in and takes strike since Pandey had crossed over, India need 34 to win off the last 12 balls.
Ball 1: 6 runs, Karthik hits a low full toss from Rubel over long on.
Ball 2: 4 runs, a yorker gone wrong, Karthik slogs it over long on and this time, it goes for four runs
Ball 3: 6 runs, full delivery on the leg stump this time and Karthik hits it over square leg
Ball 4: Dot ball, slower delivery outside off that Karthik looks to cut. He misses it entirely. The wicketkeeper appeals but there is daylight between ball and bat.
Ball 5: 2 runs, comes down the track and hammers it but it only goes a far as long-off, Shankar and Dinesh do run a couple though.
Ball 6: 4 runs, a scoop over the long leg boundary. Rubel Hossain’s over is as different as it could possibly be from the one that came before it and Karthik has made 22 runs off it.
Ball 7: 1 run, a yorker outside off and Karthik is only able to squeeze a single out of it.
(Vijay Shankar then hits a four and then gets out off the next ball. He crosses over, bringing Karthik on strike for the last ball)
Ball 8: 6 runs, Soumya Sarkar pitches this one full and outside off, Karthik gets down on one knee and majestically lifts it flat over the cover boundary. India win by four wickets with no balls remaining, Dinesh Karthik ends the match unbeaten on 29 off eight balls.