With the final Test between India and England going on in Birmingham, another group of Indian men’s cricketers visited the County Ground in Derby to play a warm-up game against Derbyshire. This squad consisted largely of the players who were part of the T20I series in Ireland.
However, there was plenty of quality on show as the Indians beat their hosts by 7 wickets and 20 balls to spare, chasing down the target of 151.
Although this was a second-string side, it will be a memorable one for Dinesh Karthik, as he was given the opportunity to lead his peers out to the field in an Indian shirt for the first time in his career, albeit in a warm-up match.
Being rewarded for his strong performances and the experience he brings to the outfit, 37-year-old Karthik won the toss and put in their hosts to bat. Derbyshire were captained by Pakistan batter Shan Masood.
It was a successful outing in the field for Dinesh Karthik and his men. Karthik chose to open the bowling with left-arm spinner Axar Patel. It was a clever ploy which immediately paid dividends for the skipper, as Patel dismissed opener Luis Reece on the fifth ball of the innings.
Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik took two wickets a piece to restrict Derbyshire before Sanju Samon opened the batting alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad. Deepak Hooda, in at 3, notched up another half-century on his impressive tour so far, before Suryakumar Yadav scored 36*(22) to guide India to a comfortable victory.
Dinesh Karthik has represented his state side Tamil Nadu as captain on several occasions in the past, as well the then-Delhi Daredevils and the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. Karthik is one of the most experienced members of the squad, having been part of India’s very first T20I in 2006 as well as its very latest.
Karthik returned to the national set-up after a remarkable 2022 season in the IPL, playing as a finisher for RCB and striking at above 180. Hardik Pandya led this same Indian outfit in Ireland but was rested for the warm-up games. India will have one more warm-up T20, against Northamptonshire. Following this, they will play a three-match T20I series against England beginning July 7, as well as a three-match ODI series. This same unit is expected to play the first T20I, and many players will be hoping a strong performance earns them a place in the team for the remaining matches as well.