India were looking well out of contest when Mustafizur Rahman bowled a maiden 18th over. That over had left India with an uphill task as they needed an improbable 34 off last two overs. But just when it looked the game was done, Dinesh Karthik played a whirlwind knock to take India home in stunning fashion. The keeper-batsman scored 29 off just 8 balls with the help of 3 sixes and 2 fours.
Karthik began his carnage from the very first ball. He got off the mark by blasting a low full toss over long on for six and followed it up with a powerful blow to long on for four. The batsman sent out another length ball over deep mid wicket for his second six and ended the Rubel Hossain over with a scoop to the fine leg fence. With 22 runs coming off the 19th over, India clawed their way back in the game.
In the final over bowled by Soumya Sarkar, India needed 5 runs off the last ball. And on the final delivery, Karthik hit one over sweeper cover for his third six to seal the match in thrilling style.
Karthik deservedly bagged the Man of the Match award for his 8-ball decisive knock. So here we are taking a look at batsmen who won the Man of the Match award by playing the fewest number of balls.
Players | Runs (Balls) | Against |
Brad Hodge | 21* (8) | South Africa |
Dinesh Karthik | 29*(8) | Bangladesh |
Ramnaresh Sarwan | 19*(9) | England |
Jos Buttler | 32*(10) | South Africa |