Karthik pat for Latham, Taylor
Dinesh Karthik, who made a comeback to the Indian team in the first One-Day International against New Zealand, said the pitch at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai behaved almost like two surfaces. The visiting side beat India by six wickets with one over to spare on Sunday (October 22), taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
India had put up a sizeable 280 for 8, riding on Virat Kohli’s 121 off 125, but New Zealand’s chase was steered with aplomb by Tom Latham (103 not out off 102) and Ross Taylor (95 off 100), who put on a 200-run stand for the fourth wicket.
“Initially I think the wicket was very sticky,” said Karthik, whose 37 (47 balls) was the second highest score in India’s innings. “It was not easy to drive, a lot of balls were going uppish in the air. It was not coming on to the bat really well. It was two different wickets, to be very honest, it was not that easy to score runs. You could see the ball going to the left and right of mid-off and cover in the air, so we weren’t able to time the ball as well. It got much better to bat in the second innings, credit to them they made use of it. Latham and Ross Taylor batted really well. They made use of the conditions and they played some good shots, used the sweep to good effect. It was a fantastic partnership.
“When we were batting, we thought at one stage 250 is probably a great score on this wicket because it was very sticky and turning a bit,” went on Karthik, who shared a 73-run stand with Kohli for the fourth wicket, the highest in India’s innings. “We batted really well towards the end, Virat played some fantastic shots and Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar who made 26 off 15) as well, so we ended up getting 280 which we thought was a very, very good score. But the way the ball was coming on to the bat in the second innings, it was not really helping us. And with dew coming in towards the end, it just made it that much harder for the wrist spinners. All in all, credit to them, they played better today.”
Karthik said that while he was reasonably satisfied with his outing, which included two catches in the outfield, he was disappointed at getting out when he did. He hooked a short ball from Tim Southee straight to Colin Munro at fine-leg, having looked in good touch during his stay in the middle after walking in at 71 for 3 in the 16th over.
“There are two ways to look at it, it is a decent start. Again, having said that, a player like me should try and bat a little longer,” felt the 32-year-old. “That is something I am disappointed with. If I had batted a little more, we could have ended up getting 15-20 more runs maybe. I got out at a critical time in the game, so I am pretty disappointed with that aspect. But it was a decent start, good to have a partnership with Virat.
“At this point of time, I do not want to say that I am comfortable at No. 4 or No. 5. From where I come, whatever opportunity is given to me by the coach and the captain, I am going to be honest and say ‘Yes I am going to play, no matter where it is’. I am at that stage where I feel I can contribute wherever I bat. Today, I thought I batted pretty decently but it was key for me to carry on and that is the part I am upset about. I think if I keep concentrating on the things that I should be doing, rather than what will happen if I bat at No. 4, or should I be batting at No.4… I think I want to take a little energy away from that and focus on what I need to do every time I go in to bat.”
Karthik also defended the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, who have enjoyed great success in recent times, but copped some punishment from the Kiwis. While Kuldeep got the important wicket of Kane Williamson, he eventually went for 64 runs in 10 overs. Chahal conceded 51 runs in 10 wicketless overs.
“I think the team management has backed them really a lot and they believe in themselves. They are two young players, they have produced some fantastic spells in the last series and I am sure their confidence is sky-high. One game here and there doesn’t make you a bad bowler,” held Karthik, adding that going through this experience would make both youngsters better bowlers.
“I think these are the kind of games that make you mentally tougher as a bowler,” explained Karthik. “That is what they would like to look at. This is a great learning curve for them and that is the whole point of playing bilaterals. You play bilaterals for two reasons – one to win the series and the other one is to prepare for the bigger tournaments. These are the kind of games that are going to help them stand up to pressure, learn how to handle pressure when the wicket is probably not helping them so much. (If) everything comes too easy, then the sport is too easily played. These are the kind of games that will make them go think about what they need to do when next time they are pitted against this kind of wicket and an opposition.
“They are very young and only going to be learning. They have both bowled really well till now so I don’t see them backing out at all, I see them coming harder every single game.”
