NIDAHAS TROPHY, 2018

The wait ends for Dinesh Karthik

by Shirshendu Roy • Last updated on

Wonder if Dinesh Karthik has ever come across the lines coined by Paulo Coelho, the one about the universe conspiring to help you achieve what you so dearly seek. But that question was reduced to a moot point because when you have lived it, you need not read it. On Sunday, at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, there were about 20,000 people who thronged the stands, even without the hosts playing a part in it. After a distasteful loss at the hands of Bangladesh, the Sri Lankan fans had turned bitter and the only team they had come to support was India. But when Mustafizur Rahman beat the greenhorn Vijay Shankar's bat, four times in a row in the 18th over, the crowd lost its voice for the first time, and when Manish Pandey was dismissed with 34 needed off the final 12, most of them had rested their case.

Then entered Dinesh Karthik, a man who was 'upset' only a few moments ago, according to his captain because he had been kept waiting.

Vijay Shankar, who hadn't had a bat in the series earlier, was promoted ahead of him and that left the wicketkeeper-batsman miffed. It needed Rohit Sharma to sit him down at the dugout and explain the reasoning behind it. "When I got out, I went and sat in the dugout and he was quite upset that he didn't bat at six. But I told him: I want you to bat and finish off the game for us, because whatever skill you have, it will be required in the last three or four overs." Rohit revealed after the match, on Sunday (March 18).

The 'wait' has been synonymous with Karthik's career. And it's a story well-known. Karthik made his first international appearance a few months before MS Dhoni did, in 2004 but he could never make the wicketkeeper's spot his own. And once Dhoni entered the race, Karthik soon went from the primary holder of the spot to the first-choice backup. His international appearances came few and far between. And whenever he came in, at times as injury replacement or to provide Dhoni rest, he would score a few and disappear from memory again.

But in 2017, the winds began to change. India wasn't looking for a replacement wicketkeeper now, but a batsman who could lend stability to the line-up, and provide answers to the No.4 conundrum. There again, he had to wait for his chances amongst other contenders. The younger potential would again get ahead of him in that line. And the wait continued.

He had a fine tour of West Indies on return, and in India too, he produced one cameo of note or the other. So when Rohit placed his trust in Karthik, it was a validation of his maturity. Only a day before, Karthik had emphasised the need to 'embrace pressure' rather than run away from it or use it as an excuse.

This Sunday was, seemingly, not very different.

But, there was hardly anything you could make out through the visor of Karthik's helmet when he walked in after a wait. Anxious? Nervous? Upset?

In an ideal world, he would have probably come in earlier when the situation hadn't slipped out of grasp as badly as it had when he eventually arrived. Once in, he had a quick word with Shankar and headed off to take strike. He marked his guard and went away to the side wickets. As the bowler waited on top of his run-up, Karthik went down into his haunches, and in an almost meditative state, took a deep breath and perhaps lived his entire career of promises - more unfulfilled than fulfilled, in those seconds. Over the next ten minutes, Karthik's time finally arrived.

His captain's reasoning for holding him back was based on observations of the game and the man. "It was because we wanted one of the experienced guys batting at the end. I thought Mustafizur would bowl probably the 18th and the 20th over. We knew he would come out with his off-cutters and Dinesh probably would have been a better choice at that point, because when I got out there were eight or nine overs left.

"Had we lost the game, you can say that it would have looked bad. But that was the idea - to have Dinesh at the back end, because he's batted in that position in a list of games for his state teams. Even when he was playing for Mumbai Indians with me, I knew his ability with the bat. He's got some different types of skill shots that would probably be required at that point at the death overs. I can proudly say it paid off," Rohit said later.

Bangladesh's best bowler of the tournament, Rubel Hossain was taken on by Karthik in the penultimate over and hit for 16 off the first three balls, and then another four to finish the over. Even after striking 22 runs off that over, there were 12 more needed off the final one, before it boiled down to five off the last ball. Comparisons were already being made - in hush-hush tones - between Karthik and Dhoni. When he hit a six to win the game for India, the explanation needed a glance skywards to the stars.

That the team was bereft of Dhoni on this tour and still needed a Dhoniesque finish was a screenplay that had much intrigue, and when a wicketkeeper hit the winning six, the drama was complete.

This knock has come when Karthik is 32, a period which is supposed to see a batsman at the height of his powers. Although tempting, it'd be whimsical to suggest that Karthik is ready to take on Dhoni's mantle. But, that he belongs in this unit shouldn't be in doubt anymore. This knock has, perhaps, done just enough to see Karthik transition from standby to stand-alone.

A day before the game, Karthik had talked about the immense competition for spots in the Indian team and how one bad tournament can see him out of the unit. On Sunday night, he shed those insecurities in style.

The 'wait' should be over now for Dinesh Karthik.

© Cricbuzz

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