Here's the reason why Dinesh Karthik doing captaincy in warm up games
On Friday, India played two different games at one time. The Indian test team took on England in the fifth and final rescheduled test match at Edgbaston, Birmingham, while the Indian T20 team took on Derbyshire in the first warm-up T20 game at County Ground, Derby.
However, both teams did well yesterday. The test team were at 338/7 at the stumps of Day 1 with an incredible century from Rishabh Pant, who smashed 144 runs off 111 balls, and Ravindra Jadeja, unbeaten on 83* runs. On the other hand, the Indian T20 team won their first warm-up quite comprehensively.
One more thing that was common between both sides was that both teams were led by totally new captains. Jasprit Bumrah took the charge in white, while the veteran wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik led the T20 side.
However, it was surprising to see Karthik leading the side instead of Hardik Pandya, who led the team against Ireland T20Is. Karthik, who has never even captained the Indian side before, was given responsibilty because Hardik was rested from the warm-up matches.
Hence, the veteran wicket-keeper took the charge. Earlier, before the match, reports confirmed that the all-rounder would be given a rest and Karthik would lead the side. Interestingly, Karthik has now become the seventh captain to lead India in 2022.
Mr. Finisher Supreme will be leading #TeamIndia in the ✌️ T20 warm-up games against Derbyshire and Northamptonshire. 👊
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) July 1, 2022
The first game starts today at 9:30 PM. Let's hear it for our very own @DineshKarthik. 🔊 🙌#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers pic.twitter.com/dCrG5Ame4V
Notably, the 37-year-old has experience of leading a team as he has done it at domestic level. But he did a pretty decent job, and India won the first warm-up match against Derbyshire on Friday.
Batting first, the hosts scored 150/8 in their 20 overs. For India, Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik picked up two wickets each. Chasing the target, India lost Ruturaj Gaikwad early, but then once again Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda came to India's rescue and added 51 runs for the second wicket.
Samson scored 38 off 30, while Hooda made 59 off 37 runs. In the end, a cameo of 36* off 22 balls from Suryakumar Yadav sealed the deal for India. The skipper was also not out at 7*. With this, India has won the first warm-up match, and now they will take on Northamptonshire in the second warm-up game on Sunday.