In unbelievable touch: Fans laud ‘comeback king’ Dinesh Karthik after his incredible knock vs South Africa

Dinesh Karthik was in full flow against South Africa at Rajkot and scored his maiden T20I fifty to lead Indian fightback in the 4th T20I.

Dinesh Karthik was in full flow against South Africa in the fourth T20I being played at Rajkot on Friday, 17 June. The 37-year-old who is making a comeback to the Indian team, rescued the derailing Indian innings after the home side lost a flurry of wickets against the Proteas.

Karthik, alongside Hardik Pandya, put together 65 off just 33 balls to stabilise the Indian innings. While Karthik had played a great knock in the Cuttack T20I, scoring 30* off 21 balls, the veteran was in full flow in Rajkot, showing the exact reason why he was called back into the team.

Playing the specialist finisher's role, Karthik used the depth of the crease to perfection to trick the bowlers and scored 55 off just 27 balls. His innings had 9 boundaries and 2 sixes which allowed India to put on a respectable total of 169 after being sent to bat first.

A crowd favourite for his calm demeanour on the pitch, Karthik was lauded by fans for his innings which essentially kept India in the series. Speaking at the mid-innings, Karthik admitted that the pitch was on the slower side and if the ball was bowled in the right areas, it was difficult to hit them for boundaries.

Just watching this innings with such a big smile! Dinesh Karthik, what an inspiration. Deserves every bit of it.