Stumpers stamp their class

Indian stumpers – Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik – stamped their class with unbeaten half centuries as India avenged their World Cup loss against Bangladesh with a five-wicket win at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka today.

Not many would have given India even a semblance of a chance when Karthik walked in to join a struggling (with severe cramps) Dhoni in the middle after the fall of Dinesh Mongia’s wicket at 144 for five off 28.1 overs specially after their batsmen’s continued failure in the recent times.

In fact the way India’s top order batted, chasing a modest 251 for victory off 47 overs after a delayed start, one thought it would be a repeat and mindless run chase the Indians have come to be associated with in recent times.

However, a limping Dhoni, who continued gamely with Yuvraj Singh as his runner, and Karthik, the man with a magical tough, had other ideas up their sleeves despite Dhoni being a bit lucky to have got a benefit of doubt from Sri Lankan umpire Ashoka De Silva for a confident LBW shout during the early part of his innings and some heart-stopping moments while running between the wickets.

Probably a shoulder injury to talented young Bengal batsman Manoj Tewari, during the nets, yesterday came as a blessing in disguise to the Indian team and Karthik, who otherwise would not have found a place in the playing eleven.

Whatever be the reason, Karthik, once again proved that he is a man of crisis. In the limited opportunities he has got so far, he has never let the team down when the chips were down and today was no exception.

The Tamil Nadu lad not only scored his second ODI fifty but was also associated in a match-winning unbroken sixth wicket partnership with Dhoni, another proven performer in the recent times. When the two of them came together, the run rate had climbed to over six runs per over but they kept their nerves under check and went about their task of rebuilding the innings brick by brick.

The sultry climate in Dhaka did not help Dhoni’s cause one bit and despite knowing fully well that the more time he spent under the sun, the more he would be suffering from cramps he went about his task wincing and gritting his teeth when the pain became unbearable.

Probably this renewed fighting spirit, which was lacking during the World Cup campaign, today stood him in good stead as he added 107 runs off 109 balls with Karthik to see his team home with his individual contribution being an unbeaten 93 off 106 balls with seven boundaries and surprisingly not a single six.

Karthik on his part chipped in with an unbeaten 58 off 60 balls with four hits to the fence knowing fully well that if he had lost his wicket early, India’s tail would have been exposed as the players to come after him included Ramesh Powar, Zaheer Khan, S Sreesanth and Munaf Patel, not much in terms of reliability with the bat.

However, despite the top order batsmen – Gautam Gambhir (21), Virender Sehwag (30), Yuvi (1), Rahul Dravid (22) and Mongia (17) -- failing cheaply, the Indians ended up winning by five wickets. Though this is a good sign, the Indians have a lot of hard work ahead of them as the hosts are bound to come out with all their guns blazing in the remaining matches of the series.

So the battle for supremacy has just got hotter and the visitors just can’t afford to relax even a little bit because if they give the hosts even a little bit of room, they know fully well that the Bangladeshis will come roaring back and I am sure the wounds that the Indians suffered during the league stages of the World Cup are still to heal completely.

The only way Dravid and company can forget the World Cup defeat is by blanking out the opposition 3-0 (ODI) and 2-0 (Tests) on this tour.

So let’s hope this could be the launching pad for the India's future glory!