THE DK SHOW

 

Image Credit- The Times of India.

Venue- R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo [March 18, 2018].

India was facing Bangladesh in the finals of the 2018 Nidahas Trophy. Both the teams in the previous encounters have played very competitive cricket. As, a result everyone was expecting another mouth-watering clash between the two neighbors. And Boy! What a game it turned out to be. 

The match went up to the last ball with Men in Blue needing to score 167 runs to win, and at one point were struggling at 133 for 5 in the 18th over. The Bangladeshis were going Hammer and Tong. Following Manish Pandey's wicket, Karthik came out to bat. At this stage India needed 34 runs from the final two overs. The match was on a knife-edge. One more wicket and the game would have turned towards the Men in Green. Vijay Shankar, who was sent before Karthik, was finding it difficult to hit big shots, which was why India ended up landing in a precarious situation. However, in the next 15 minutes Karthik destroyed the Bangladesh Attack, scoring 22 runs in the 19th over that Rubel Hossain delivered and then hitting a six off the last ball to send India to victory in the T20 tri-series final versus Bangladesh. It is difficult to explain Karthik's innings of 29 not out from 8 balls when India was looking at their first T20 cricket loss to Bangladesh, but the batsman from Tamil Nadu had some other plans. 

Bangladeshi Captain Mashrafe Mortaza trusted Soumya Sarkar with the ball, and he performed admirably, giving up just three runs in the first three deliveries of the final over. But the next three balls turned the tide of the match in India's favor; Shankar hit a boundary off the fourth ball and was dismissed in the next delivery. But most importantly for India, Karthik was on strike for the last ball after the batsmen were able to cross the sides. At that moment, Sarkar erred by bowling a full delivery outside off stump, which Karthik precisely timed to smash over the covers for a flat six, winning the match for India and setting off wild celebrations.

Every Indian and Sri Lankan was full of joy, whereas the Bangladeshis were in agony. It was match worth a final. It was a complete Box Office. It had everything.  The Heroics of DK will be remembered for ages. He indeed became a household name after this incredible performance. 

To watch the 19th over of the Indian Innings, Click Here.

To watch the 20th over of the Indian Innings, Click Here. 

References- 1. Rohan Sen, On this day: Dinesh Karthik heroics help India stun Bangladesh in Nidahas Trophy final, India Today.

2. Jamie Alter, Nidhas Trophy Final: Dinesh Karthik's Epic and other Last Ball Finishes in T20Is.