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By Syed Ahsan Ali.

Indians have number of heroes in their Test Series victory against England. The name of Zaheer comes to the mind, RP Singh played his part brilliantly, Ganguly and Sachin lived up to the expectations of the nation, but the man who made all the difference was Dinesh Karthik. Indian batting has been having a poor track record overseas and especially in crunch situations where they need to play themselves into squeezing a draw or a win. But this time around, they weathered everything that was thrown at them. Reason being the young champion in their ranks, Dinesh Karthik.

Opening an innings has been the most difficult job in the book of cricket along with wicket-keeping. It needs an edge to face the new ball with confidence and temperament. And it becomes doubly difficult when you are not a specialist at the job. Karthik is definitely not a specialist opener with the knowledge of some really solid men at their job failing to make an impression in the past. Even the most gifted of openers who are rare species these days are finding it tough in international cricket with the added burden of making runs quickly enough to put the foot on the pedal from the word go. Geoff Boycott and Sunil Gavaskar are no more the ideal options; changes in the game bring in the concept of aggressive openers even in Test cricket in the mould of Hayden and Langer. But Karthik did both things with excellence with the right mixture of both moods.

His scores came at the time when any loose performance at the top of the order could have ruled out Indian chances of winning the series. His steely exhibitions allow the senior pros in the wings to use the platform with prudence and maturity. If he faltered in his stint at the crease right at the beginning then the whole burden will shift onto the middle order where still the heart of Indian cricket lies. But in doing so, he never allowed any bowler to dictate terms to him. His skill of squeezing runs from nowhere gave him an extra edge as an opener which is a necessity in this era of panache and belligerence. Moving the score board quickly while keeping the wickets intact especially against the new ball is the best thing one can do for his team. Aussies are the world’s powerhouse because they do the first things right by making quick runs in the 1st innings and taking wickets with the new ball.

Indians got brilliant starts throughout the Test Series which helped them immensely to bolster their ways from any situations. Similarly, their bowling made inroads with the new ball invariably every time they got their hands on the new cherry. Indians have tried several options to find suitable openers, but now it seems they have found a jewel in the shape of Karthik who is ready to share the burden of billion hopes. The Tamil Nadu boy is the hero for me in this unforgettable series win overseas.

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