Photos: Lessons till the end, from MS Dhoni to Dinesh Karthik
Dhoni and Karthik remained unbeaten on 18 and 64 respectively as India sealed the second ODI.
SNS | New Delhi | October 26, 2017 2:19 pm
While many cricket enthusiasts and pundits now see Dinesh Karthik as a successor of current wicketkeeping sensation MS Dhoni, the bond seemed as one of a teacher-student relationship on Wednesday night.
Dhoni and Karthik remained unbeaten on 18 and 64 respectively as India sealed the second ODI by six wickets to level the three-match series 1-1 at the MCA Stadium, Pune.
In the first ODI in Mumbai, Karthik managed to score 37 runs.
The inclusion of 32-year-old Tamil Nadu keeper Karthik in the ODI and T20I squad was surprising amid Dhoni’s vital presence in the Playing XI and the Indian cricket team’s camp.
The move, however, can be deliberate towards the establishment of a new era. Indian skipper Virat Kohli has made it clear that there will be a lot of rotation in the squad for preparing the right combination for the 2019 World Cup.
Dhoni, 36, might be giving Karthik some classes on and off the field. It seemed evident on Wednesday when he was seen making Karthik understand something while going back to the pavilion after the win.
The Kohli family along with their two children -- Vamika and Akaay -- visited the Ashram in Uttar Pradesh and took the blessings of the sant. They stayed in the ashram for 30 minutes.
Sam Konstas’ on-field confrontations with India’s talismanic duo of Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah in his debut series certainly helped him become an overnight sensation with his social media numbers storming by 30,000 per cent. The 19-year-old, who made his debut in the penultimate Test of the five-match rubber in Melbourne, opened up on his on-field spat with Kohli and Bumrah, while effusing praises on the Indian cricket stalwarts.
India’s 3-1 series loss to Australia has raised questions over thefutures of two of the team’s struggling statesmen — Rohit Sharma andVirat Kohli — but head coach Gautam Gambhir insisted that the duo’sfuture plans are entirely their call and the decision to retire or notlies with the players themselves.