THE FINISHERS
6. Dinesh Karthik (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Dinesh Karthik’s resurgence—both in limited-overs international cricket and in the IPL—is one of the best things that has happened in Indian cricket of late.
The thirty two-year old keeper/batsman’s appointment as the new skipper of a rebooted KKR outfit had raised many an eyebrow, but his last over heroics in the Nidahas Trophy final against Bangladesh was a glaring testimony to his new-found penchant for finishing off games—a role he would later reprise for KKR as well on numerous occasions.
His exemplary leadership and calming influence on the large pool of young players in the KKR squad were instrumental in taking KKR to the playoffs.
Stats: Matches 16, Runs 498, Average 49.80, S/R 147.77, HS 52, two fifties.
Most memorable performance: In a must-win game for KKR against Kings XI Punjab at Indore, the KKR captain rose to the occasion and took advantage of the short boundaries by bringing up his fifty in just 22 balls and setting up the stage for a famous KKR victory.
