How do Indian batsmen choose to describe the incredible win at the T-20 final match against Bangladesh? It was a last-ball victory, like the one of Javed Miandad many years ago. His was also a six on the last delivery. This time, Dinesh Karthik built up sufficient pressure on the rival team’s able bowlers when he scored a six on the last ball. He completed 29 runs in a mere eight deliveries.
His do-or-die spirit was abundantly clear from the way he played – smashing the ball efficiently with his bat with an immediate excitement surging through the hearts of his breathless team members. It was also a fantastic moment for his countrymen to rejoice at the victory.
Before that, however, it looked as if happiness remained confined in the clouds. It was released only when the six zoomed over the spectators at the stadium in Colombo. Chasing 167 in the final game, cricketers like Manish Pandey (28 runs) and Vijay Shankar were struggling hard to gather momentum. It was Karthik’s inherent calm and experience, after the contributions from KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma (56 runs), that helped him end the match with a powerful performance.
Bangladesh started losing their wickets quite early on. They lost as many as three wickets for 33 runs in just five overs. Sabbir Rahman stood like a formidable player who took his individual tally to 77 runs, while lifting the team’s score above 140. His departure goaded Mehdi Hasan to propel his side with 19 runs from 7 balls. Though India tasted the sweet victory and lifted the Triangular Nidahas Trophy, the Bangladeshi players batted and bowled well in the matches. Overall, they proved to be quite a strong team throughout the tournament and in the final.