Dinesh Karthik breaks MS Dhoni's record with sensational half-century in 4th T20I against South Africa

Dinesh Karthik turned out to be the hero for India once again as the hosts defeated South Africa by 82 runs in the penultimate 4th T20I to level the five-match series 2-2. Riding on Karthik's sensational fifty, India went on to post a fighting total of 169 runs on the board at the Saurashtra Cricket Stadium in Rajkot before bundling out the visitors for a paltry 87 to win the game comprehensively.

Asked to bat first in the game, India were in trouble after losing their top three - Ruturaj Gaikwad (5), Ishan Kishan (27) and Shreyas Iyer (4) cheaply inside the first seven overs. Captain Rishabh Pant then combined with Hardik Pandya to steady the ship and add 41 runs for the 4th wicket.

However, he too departed cheaply on 17 off 23 balls before Karthik arrived at the crease. The veteran batter continued his purple patch with the willow and slammed a brilliant knock of 55 runs off just 27 balls. His quickfire knock was laced with 9 fours and 2 sixes as Karthik added a 65-run stand for the fifth wicket with Hardik (46).

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It was a sensational knock from the in-form Karthik, who took 13 runs off the 17th over bowled by Keshav Maharaj before smashing a six and back-to-back fours in the 18th over bowled by Dwaine Pretorious to get 16 runs off it. With his match-winning fifty, Karthik broke MS Dhoni's record in T20Is.

Karthik has now become the oldest Indian batter to have scored a half-century in T20Is. Karthik at 37 years and 16 days is the oldest to achieve the feat leaving behind Dhoni, who previously held the record for his fifty in a T20I against South Africa in 2018.

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Karthik has so far scored 92 runs in the ongoing T20I series against South Africa at home and has been strengthening his case for selection in India's T20 World Cup 2022 squad with his finishing cameos in the lower-middle order.

After a phenomenal IPL 2022 as a finisher for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Karthik has carried on from where he left in the ongoing South Africa series and has justified the faith shown in him by the selectors. The veteran batter will be hopeful of finishing the series on a high when India take on South Africa in the series-deciding 5th T20I on Sunday.