"The most pressure can come on Rishabh Pant" - Aakash Chopra lauds Dinesh Karthik's match-winning knock in 4th India vs South Africa T20I

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Dinesh Karthik played a blazing knock in the 4th T20I against South Africa [P/C: BCCI]

Aakash Chopra feels Dinesh Karthik delivering the goods consistently will put the most pressure on Rishabh Pant if the latter continues to underperform with the bat.

Karthik played an enterprising 55-run knock in the fourth T20I against South Africa on Friday, June 17. Pant, on the other hand, was found slightly wanting, scoring a 23-ball 17.

While lauding Karthik in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra sounded a warning note for Pant, saying:

"Karthik scored runs in Cuttack and here as well. They are important knocks. He is taking one-one step towards the World Cup and the pressure will come on all other wicketkeepers, I feel the most pressure can come on Rishabh Pant."

The cricketer-turned-commentator explained why Pant is falling behind Karthik at the moment:

"It may look absurd right now that what am I saying, Rishabh Pant is the captain in this series, but I feel if he doesn't score runs, then the question will come who bats better down the order because there are a lot of players to bat in the top four. There is already a crowd there."

Pant has had a dismal T20I series against South Africa thus far. The stand-in Indian skipper has managed just 57 runs at a poor average of 14.25 and an equally underwhelming strike rate of 105.55 in the four T20Is.

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"This player is special and has cricket left in him" - Aakash Chopra on Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik was duly chosen as the Player of the Match [P/C: BCCI]

On the flip side, Chopra was all praise for Karthik. He observed:

"This player (Karthik) is special and has cricket left in him. Dinesh Karthik is the oldest Indian to score a T20I fifty. He played extremely well. He just takes it on suddenly."

The 44-year-old concluded by highlighting that Karthik is an inspiration for everyone, saying::

"I feel the hunger that he has to do something, he will not leave it, he will keep on fighting, he will make a name for himself, he will keep going hard at it, he played in the first T20I in 2006 as well and is still playing. He was there yesterday, is there today and will remain tomorrow. He is an inspiration for all of us."

Johns.

@CricCrazyJohns

Both picture has a difference of 16 long years - @DineshKarthik is an inspiration to all sports person.

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Both picture has a difference of 16 long years - @DineshKarthik is an inspiration to all sports person. https://t.co/Z8n0uIJhEe

Karthik's 55-run knock came off just 27 deliveries and was studded with nine fours and two sixes. His innings helped Team India set a challenging 170-run target for the Proteas. The Men In Blue went on to win the match by a massive margin of 82 runs.

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