New Delhi:
Dinesh Karthik scored a breezy 94 off 77 balls to power India to an imposing 324 for seven against Bangladesh in their second warm-up game being played at Oval as a build-up to the ICC Champions Trophy.
Opening the Indian innings, southpaw Shikhar Dhawan scored a fluent 60 against a quality Bangladesh attack comprising Mustafizur Rahaman , Rubel Hossain and Taskin Ahmed.
Hardik Pandya showed his utility as an all-rounder with an equally impactful unbeaten 80 off 54 balls, which was laced with six boundaries and four huge sixes in the arc between mid-wicket and long-on. Courtesy of Hardik's big hits towards the end, India crossed 300-run mark.
Skipper Virat Kohli and former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not bat, giving others an opportunity to get a good hit before the big-ticket Pakistan game. With Yuvraj Singh not coming out to bat, indicating that he was is to get fit, Karthik, after his failure against New Zealand, grabbed the second opportunity.
He hit eight boundaries and a six and, in the process, also sent feelers to the team management that he is also a candidate for a middle-order slot. He added 100 runs with Dhawan for the third wicket after Rohit Sharma (1) and Ajinkya Rahane's (11) lack of footwork saw them getting played on.
Rohit was dismissed by Rubel while Mustafizur got the better of Rahane. But Karthik showed composure during his innings under mostly overcast conditions. His first boundary was a cut shot off Taskin followed by a superb straight drive off Mustafizur.
He was severe on off-spinner Mossadek Hossain and left- arm spinner Sunzamul Islam, cutting and pulling anything that was short. Sunzamul was pulled for a four and a six in one of the overs and he also ran the singles well.
Dhawan hit seven fours mostly through off and cover and was more patient than Karthik, waiting for the loose balls. He faced 67 balls before holing out at mid-wicket off Sunzamul, who went for 74 in his nine overs. Kedar Jadhav (31) also got some batting time while Ravindra Jadeja (32) chipped in with useful contribution.
(With Inputs from PTI)
