He has been in serious form in the role he is fulfilling: Keshav Maharaj heaps praises on Dinesh Karthik

South Africa's stand-in captain, Keshav Maharaj, has heaped praise on the Indian wicketkeeper batter, Dinesh Karthik. Yesterday's match was one of Dinesh Karthik's all-time best innings as he made his first half-century in the T20 format. His blistering knock of 55 runs off 27 balls was crucial for India and helped them put up a commendable total of 169 runs. Also, they were successful in hindering the Proteas to a mere 87 and leveling the series, 2-2. 

During the 4th T20I of the series, Temba Bavuma, the Proteas captain, had injured himself while driving full length. Bavuma was ruled out of the game, and Keshav Maharaj led the Proteas instead. But that didn’t change the Proteas performed, and they were losing wickets in quick succession. 

The defeat however, did not stop the stand-in captain from appreciating the class performance by the Indian batter. 

“He (Karthik) has been in serious form in the role he is fulfilling. He is certainly one of the best finishers in the game. He scores in unorthodox areas which makes him difficult to bowl. We saw why he was one of the leading performers in the IPL. He showed his class today and played exceptionally well." stated Maharaj.

Also, he has shown his appreciation for Indian pace-bowler, Avesh Khan, who scalped four wickets for 18 runs. He said, “Avesh adapted really well and kept it simple and got the reward for consistent and controlled bowling."

With India acing the 4th T20I of the series, thanks to the performances of Dinesh Karthik, Avesh Khan and Hardik Pandya, they were able to get back to level terms in the series after losing the first two matches in a row. 

As the scoreline stands at 2-2, the series decider will be played at Bengaluru on the 19th of June. 

The South African all-rounder has had his say on the upcoming decider. “We had a bit of momentum in the first two and India got in the next two. It makes that much more exciting to go to Bangalore, the crowds have been amazing so far, and it will add to the excitement," said Maharaj.