India’s off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was not at all impressed with Dinesh Karthik for refusing the single to Krunal Pandya. Singh believes India could have got over the line against New Zealand in the final T20I had Karthik rotated the strike to Pandya. Krunal Pandya was also striking the ball with perfection and it was surprising to note that Karthik refused the single.
In fact, Karthik took an impulsive decision to take the onus on his shoulders. However, he could not get India over the finishing line. On the other hand, Harbhajan Singh believes the two tours to Australia and New Zealand were good for the team.
Karthik could have rotated the strike.
The T20I series between India and Australia was tied. Subsequently, India went on to create history as they won their maiden Test series on the Australian soil. The Men in Blue also won the ODI series in Australia and New Zealand. However, they lost the T20I series against New Zealand.
“India has gained a lot for sure. Australia and New Zealand tours are not easy and it was a long tour. Mentally you get tired by the time you reach the last game but overall I feel we have gained a lot. A lot of good things happened, beating Australia in Australia and then coming to New Zealand and dominating them in one-days”.
“This last T20I could have gone either way and any team could have won but a little mistake from Dinesh Karthik that he did not take that single and maybe we could have won this game too,” Harbhajan Singh told Sports Tak.
India was able to tick the right boxes on their tours to the southern hemisphere. These two tours must have added a shot in the arm to the Indian side as getting the series win in overseas conditions is always impressive.
India will now take on Australia in two T20Is and five One Day Internationals in the home series. Subsequently, the players will play in the Indian Premier League and then the big ICC World Cup 2019.