"Never easy for a senior player to make such a comeback" - Ashish Nehra on Dinesh Karthik's batting exploits in 4th T20I vs SA
Ex-cricketer Ashish Nehra has said that the Indian team management will be pleased to see Dinesh Karthik's impressive performance with the bat in the 4th T20I against South Africa.
Nehra highlighted how challenging it would have been for Dinesh Karthik to come back to the national side after almost three years. The former India pacer mentioned that, with his stunning half-century, the right-hander showed that he is a dependable batter in this format.
Nehra also pointed out that Karthik was in search of a big knock, and he delivered when he got an opportunity to bat at the No. 6 position. He made these remarks while speaking on Cricbuzz after India's 82-run win over South Africa on Friday.
"It's never easy for a senior player to make such a comeback. He did start off well in the series, but was in search of a big knock. While he had been scoring impactful runs, it was good to see him bat at No. 6 today and score a half-century. You expect this from an experienced player. He was chosen as a finisher, but he also knows how to steady the ship when needed. The team management will be very happy with his performance."
In the same video, Parthiv Patel reckoned that Karthik's reputation forced South Africa to make errors during the game. He remarked that the veteran batter adjusted his shots based on the field placement to get on top of the bowlers.
"South Africa's bowling wasn't up to the mark when Dinesh Karthik was batting. But the reputation of a player like him forces the opposition to make such errors. More than the bowler, he is playing according to the field. When the square-leg and fine-leg were in the circle, he was looking to play over them right from the beginning."
Karthik struck his maiden T20I half-century on Friday. He came into bat when the team was in trouble. The dynamic batter contributed 55 crucial runs from 27 balls to bring India back into the game.
bit.ly/INDvSA-4THT20I 
.@DineshKarthik put on an impressive show with the bat & bagged the Player of the Match award as #TeamIndia beat South Africa in Rajkot. 👏 👏
Scorecard ▶️ bit.ly/INDvSA-4THT20I
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"South Africa will have to change their bowling plans" - Ashish Nehra
Nehra mentioned that South Africa had brought in the fine-leg and the square-leg inside the 30-yard circle when Dwaine Pretorius was bowling to Dinesh Karthik. He reckoned that it was the wrong move as the experienced batter is very strong in that area.
He noted that Karthik often looks to play the ramp shot against fast bowlers. Nehra believes that the field wasn't ideal as Pretorius isn't very quick and also doesn't bowl a lot of yorkers.
"I was surprised to see that Dwaine Pretorius had both fine-leg and square-leg inside the circle for Dinesh Karthik. A bowler can get hit for a six even on a good ball. But field placement is something that is in his control. He doesn't have express pace and doesn't bowl a lot of bouncers or yorkers. He even plays the ramp shot to bowlers who have the pace. South Africa will have to change their bowling plans."
Clinical win for #TeamIndia in Rajkot! 👏 👏
The @RishabhPant17-led unit beat South Africa by 82 runs to level the series 2-2. 🙌 🙌
Scorecard ▶️ bit.ly/INDvSA-4THT20I
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The five-match series is now evenly poised at 2-2 after India's comprehensive victory in the fourth fixture. The two sides will battle it out in the final match of the rubber on Sunday (June 19) in Bengaluru.