Veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik said that both Team India and Australia were very keen to play the second T20I in the city of Nagpur after seeing the craze for cricket among the fans in the city.
He also revealed that there were crowds throughout their journey from the team hotel to VCA Stadium in Nagpur, and it was great to see the love, so they decided to play for them on Friday (September 23) despite there being a delay of more than two hours in starting the second T20I.
Notably, the second T20I between India and Australia was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., but it was delayed until 9:30 p.m. and was reduced to eight overs per side due to a wet outfield. Batting first, Australia posted 90 runs on the board in 8 overs that the hosts chased down with 4 balls to spare to level the T20I series at 1-1 with the series decider set to be held in Hyderabad on September 25.
Dinesh Karthik said at a post-match press conference: “Look, I think we were very keen to play. There was one reason and one reason only. From the time we started from the hotel, right upto the stadium, there were crowds throughout. We took more time than we should have to reach the ground.”
He continued, “So the amount of people that were standing in the ground, we knew it was a special occasion for us. After COVID, there have not been occasions where people in the city have come. We wanted to make sure we played the game, obviously at the start of the game; we felt it might be hard. Both teams were very courageous and kind to play the game.”
Karthik signed off by saying, “The conditions were good to the field, not the best. Both the teams played the game for the city of Nagpur and I think they deserve this because they came in full numbers, one of the loudest crowds that I have been a part of in a long long time so really happy to have played the game. Just to play it for the people of Nagpur is really special.”
(With NDTV Inputs)
