Was Waiting for a Moment Like That Myself: Dinesh Karthik on Nidahas Trophy Final

One of Dinesh Karthik’s career highlights is the unbeaten 29 off 8 balls that sealed India the Nidahas Trophy tri-series in the final against Bangladesh in March, 2018.

Karthik walked in with India needing 34 off 2 overs. He smashed Rubel Hossain for 22 in the penultimate over of the game before sealing victory in the final over with a last-ball six off Soumya Sarkar.

Karthik recalled the moment saying he had belief that he could win even from that situation.

“I was waiting for such a moment like that to prove myself. I had been practicing a lot to face a chance like this. When the real situation came to go through that I think it is fun at that stage. Lots of it happen in auto mode,” he said in Star Sports 1 Tamil show Mind Masters by MFORE.

“As you practice a lot and when you are at that stage you know what you need to do. I had belief that we would win that match, it was 2 overs 34 runs to win, and I still thought that I could win this game for the team.”

When asked about mental toughness required to face situations like that, Karthik said the most important thing is to be in the present.

“To sum up mental toughness, it’s the ability to stay in the present consistently,” he explained. “So that whenever you face tough situations, you will get lots of random thoughts but most importantly if you can focus on what you need to do right now and consistently get that right, more often than not you will be victorious. All successful players have gained that strength over a period of time.”

Karthik last played for India in the 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand, which India lost. Karthik, approaching 35, has played 26 Tests, 94 ODIs and 32 T20Is.