Dinesh Karthik pulls off a brilliant piece of athleticism to catch his opposite number Ajinkya Rahane short of the crease. ScreengrabDinesh Karthik has been having a great run of late. The dapper wicketkeeper-batsman's last-ball six fired India to an exciting win over Bangladesh in the final T20 tri-series in Sri Lanka last month. Karthik, who took over from Gautam Gambhir as captain of Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), pulled off a magnificent stumping against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur Wednesday night.
The 32-year-old effected a stunning backhand flick to catch his opposite number Ajinkya Rahane short of the crease off Nitish Rana's bowling. Rahane, who made a 19-ball 36, was looking good for a big score when Karthik's brilliance led to his downfall. The stumping, a la M S Dhoni, put the brakes on Royals' innings and the hosts could manage only 160/8 in their 20 overs.
Karthik followed it with an unbeaten 42 off 23 balls to fire KKR to the top of the points table. Karthik hit the winning shot too, as is Dhoni's wont, a huge six off Ben Laughlin to complete the seven-wicket win.
