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India vs New Zealand: India’s new finisher - Numbers reveal ‘silent guardian’ in batting order
After the collapse in the 1st T20I, India need to put their first foot forward in the second T20I which means that the senior players have to step up and be counted.
For all his prowess and talent with the bat, Dinesh Karthik has not been able to cement his side in the Indian team. However, the man from Tamil Nadu has been entrusted with a new role in the recent past - which is a finisher and this has suited his style of play almost perfectly.
After a stellar season in the IPL in 2017, he made a comeback into the Indian side and has played 14 games since. This is the most he has played in a calendar year and the numbers show that a long rope and a consistent run given to him has borne fruits.
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He has scored runs at an average of 84.00 since 2017 till 31st Dec 2018 for India – which is the best average among all the Indian players in the aforementioned period.
His strike rate - which reads an impressive 160.50 is also best in the list of Indian players with a minimum of 10 matches played since 2017 till 31st December 2018.
He has the ability to go for his strokes from the first ball and the reason behind his impressive average is due to the fact that he has remained unbeaten in a majority of the innings. He has remained not out 10 times since 2011 - which is the joint most in T20Is.
Out of these 10 unbeaten innings, 7 have come in the second innings and this has a bearing on the average - it shoots up to 171. In 2018, he has remained unbeaten in 6 innings and India has taken India over the line each time, which underlines his importance to the team as a finisher.
India will need his finishing touches in the second T20I in Auckland, which has been a high-scoring ground if they want to draw level in the 3-match series.
