Former India cricketer Ashish Nehra showered praise on Dinesh Karthik for his batting exploits against South Africa in the fourth T20I. The wicket-keeper batter smashed his maiden T20I half-century on Friday in Rajkot.
Dinesh Karthik made a comeback to the Indian team for the T20I series after a period of three years. The 37-year-old’s brilliant performance in the Indian Premier League. In the ongoing T20I series, he has played the finisher’s role effectively for India.
The veteran batter slammed 55 runs off just 27 balls to take India to 169 runs in the fourth T20I. His knock included nine boundaries and two sixes and came at a strike rate of 203.7. Praising Dinesh Karthik’s knock while speaking on Cricbuzz, Ashish Nehra said,
“It’s never easy for a senior player to make such a comeback. He did start off well in the series but was in search of a big knock. While he had been scoring impactful runs, it was good to see him bat at No. 6 today and score a half-century. You expect this from an experienced player. He was chosen as a finisher, but he also knows how to steady the ship when needed. The team management will be very happy with his performance.”
In the same video, former cricketer Parthiv Patel expressed that Dinesh Karthik’s reputation forced the visitors to make errors while bowling. He added that the Indian batter used the field effectively. Parthiv said,
“South Africa’s bowling wasn’t up to the mark when Dinesh Karthik was batting. But the reputation of a player like him forces the opposition to make such errors. More than the bowler, he is playing according to the field. When the square-leg and fine-leg were in the circle, he was looking to play over them right from the beginning.”
.@DineshKarthik put on an impressive show with the bat & bagged the Player of the Match award as #TeamIndia beat South Africa in Rajkot. 👏 👏
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/9Mx4DQmACq #INDvSA | @Paytm pic.twitter.com/RwIBD2OP3p
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 17, 2022
South Africa will have to change their bowling plans: Ashish Nehra
Former India cricketer Ashish Nehra was disappointed with the field set by the Proteas for Dinesh Karthik. He expressed that the South Africans need to change their bowling plan for the fifth T20I. Nehra said,
“I was surprised to see that Dwaine Pretorius had both fine-leg and square-leg inside the circle for Dinesh Karthik. A bowler can get hit for a six even on a good ball. But field placement is something that is in his control. He doesn’t have express pace and doesn’t bowl a lot of bouncers or yorkers. He even plays the ramp shot to bowlers who have the pace. South Africa will have to change their bowling plans.”
India won the fourth T20I by 82 runs to equal the five-match T20I series 2-2. The fifth match will take place on Sunday, June 19 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.