"Karthik should have allowed Tendulkar to complete ton"

It is not often that a player draws flak for scoring the winning runs but India's wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik clearly has not made himself popular by leaving Sachin Tendulkar stranded just four runs short of a century in the third ODI against Sri Lanka.

It is not often that a player draws flak for scoring the winning runs but India's wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik clearly has not made himself popular by leaving Sachin Tendulkar stranded just four runs short of a century in the third ODI against Sri Lanka.

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India won the third one-dayer comfortably in Cuttack last night but an over-zealous Karthik finds himself at the centre of a debate on whether he should have allowed his senior partner Tendulkar to complete what could have been his 46th ODI century.

Former cricketers reckoned that Karthik could have given more strike to Tendulkar since there were still some overs left but were not willing to be too harsh on the young keeper whose priority was to take India to victory.

"Karthik's not mature enough. He could have given more strike to Tendulkar to complete a well-deserved hundred. Karthik was too excited to finish off the game himself," former India spinner Bapu Nadkarni said.

Karthik (32 not out), filling in for regular captain and stumper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who is serving a two-match suspension, hit the winning runs – a four – to leave his illustrious partner stranded at an unbeaten 96 in a team total of 242 for three.

Nadkarni wondered why Karthik went for a six the over before the target was achieved.