Karthik’s last ball six seals victory; India lift Nidahas Trophy

Team India thrashed Bangladesh by 4 wickets in a nail-biting encounter to lift the Nidahas Trophy in Colombo on Sunday. The Indian team registered victory one the final delivery of the tournament, courtesy Dinesh Karthik’s sensational strike over the covers for a maximum.

New Delhi: Team India thrashed Bangladesh by 4 wickets in a nail-biting encounter to lift the Nidahas Trophy in Colombo on Sunday. The Indian team registered the victory on the final delivery of the tournament, courtesy Dinesh Karthik’s sensational strike over the covers for a maximum. Having come into the match with a dramatic win over hosts Sri Lanka, the Bangladeshi side was brought down back to earth with a bump by the Rohit Sharma led Indian side. Chasing a tricky 167 runs, the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, who returned to form with a sensational 89 in the previous encounter, smashed another brilliant half-century (56) to set up India’s victory. The 30-year-old laced up his 42-ball innings with 4 fours and 3 maximums. However, chasing the total was easier said than done as India lost wickets at frequent intervals. Manish Pandey’s 28 and KL Rahul’s 24 took India closer to the target but failed to guide them home. With India needing 34 off 12 deliveries and Vijay Shankar struggling to clear the ball, the onus was on experienced Dinesh Karthik to avoid humiliation and take India to the finish line. The 32-year-old wasted no time as he smashed 29 off just 8 deliveries with 2 fours and 3 sixes-- the last of them which will be forever be etched in the memory. Earlier, riding on Sabbir Rahman’s classy half-century, Bangladesh piled up 166/8 in the designated 20 overs. Off-spinner Washington Sundar (1/20 in 4 overs) and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (3/18 in 4 overs) were brilliant in the Powerplay but the duo of Vijay Shankar (0/48 in 4 overs) and Shardul Thakur (0/45 in 4 overs) leaked 93 runs between them on a good batting surface. While the Washington-Chahal duo bowled 20 dot balls between them with only one boundary, Shankar and Thakur conceded 10 boundaries and four sixes. The last six overs of the Bangladesh innings yielded 66 runs -- mostly coming from Sabbir's blade.