India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik wary of Bangladesh prowess in subcontinent conditions ahead of T20 tri-series final

Sudhir Gupta 17:44 17/03/2018
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  • Karthik is aware of the threat Sunday's opponents pose.

    India take on Bangladesh in the final of the Nidahas T20I tri-series on Sunday at Colombo and India wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik says pressure will be on his team to deliver as fans back home expect victory against the Tigers irrespective of form or squad strength.

    “Let’s be fair to India as a cricketing nation – whether we play the second string or the first-string team it’s always the case (expected to win),” he said at the pre-match press conference on Saturday.

    “When we play Bangladesh and we win it’s like: ‘Ok, you’ve won against Bangladesh’. But if we lose it’s like: ‘Dude, you’ve lost to Bangladesh. What are you doing?’ I’m sure that’s going to be there. With Rohit (Sharma), the first thing that he said was that although we have a few of our other players missing, we’re looking to play exactly the sort of cricket that we’ve played in the past one year,” he added.

    Having rested big guns like Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, a Rohit Sharma led India made it to the final with three straight wins after losing to hosts Sri Lanka in the tournament opener.

    Between the trophy and them lies Bangladesh, who have never beaten India in seven previous T20I meetings between the two sides. Karthik however, is not taking Shakib Al Hasan’s men lightly.

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  • India are unbeaten in all T20 meetings with Bangladesh so far.

    India are unbeaten in all T20 meetings with Bangladesh so far.

    “But especially in subcontinent conditions, Bangladesh are a very good team. They are known for their tenacity. They really try hard. They are team that achieved Test status not many years ago, and from there on they have propelled in all formats of the game and done well for themselves,” Karthik said.

    Five of the six games in the tournament so far have been won by the chasing side and Karthik believes dew will be crucial factor on Sunday.

    “Chasing is not necessarily easy. I don’t know much about the wicket, but if the dew settles it’s much easier for the team that bats second. If there’s no dew then it’s going to be a great game. If the wicket is sow and it’s going to turn, it will be a challenge. The team that bowls better has a better chance to win the final,” he said.

    The middle-order batsman has been around in international cricket for some time now but has failed to cement a place in the India setup. Asked if there was pressure on him to perform or perish, Karthik replied: “From where I sit, every tournament is important. One bad tournament and I will be on the way out. So, in every tournament I need to be at the top of my game and try to do as well as I can.”

    Bangladesh had on Friday defeated the hosts in a virtual shootout for the final. Shakib’s men won by two-wickets in a dramatic finish which was marred by ugly altercations between players on both sides.

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