Nidahas Trophy 2018: Dinesh Karthik learnt the art of staying cool from MS Dhoni

Colombo, March 19: Dinesh Karthik did an MS Dhoni as he finished things off in style for India by hitting a six off the final delivery to help India seal the Nidahas Trophy 2018 in front of an ecstatic crowd at R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday (March 18).

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The Tamil Nadu cricketer did an unthinkable and dashed Bangladesh's hopes of beating India for the first time in a Twenty20 international game and even lifting the tri-nation trophy. Indians were in neck deep trouble when the wicketkeeper-batsman walked into the middle as they required 34 off 12 deliveries.

Needing five off the final delivery, Karthik smashed Soumya Sarkar over extra-cover as a second-string Indian side held its nerve in a tense situation to chase down a target of 167 in 20 overs. It would count as one of India's famous last ball sixes -- something that Pakistani legend did against India 32 years back in Sharjah.

Karthik scored 29 off 8 deliveries as India romped home in another scintillating last-ball thriller against Bangladesh. The 32-year-old cricketer showed his calm and composure in a tensed nail-biting situation and revealed during the post-match interview that he's learnt the art of remaining cool by none other than 'captain cool' Dhoni, who's been as cool as a cucumber in pressure games.

Remember MS Dhoni's 64* in 32 balls for RPS v KXIP at Vizag on 21 May 2016 in #IPL
23 runs needed off the last over from Axar Patel; 16 off last three, 12 off last two.
MSD 0 Y 6 4 6 6 (22 runs + 1 wide)😱#INDvBAN #NidahasTrophy2018
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) March 19, 2018

"I guess it comes from experience. That can't be bought. You learn it over the years - it's important to stay calm. Dhoni is a great example of that. You can see how calm he is, and you learn a lot of things from a lot of people, and one thing I've learned from Dhoni is how he finishes," said Karthik, who was replaced by Dhoni in the national side, earlier in their career.

Dhoni has been India's one of the biggest match-finishers and the veteran cricketer's absence wasn't felt as Karthik pulled off a sensational run chase.

Actually last night, Dinesh Karthik did a Houdini and a Dhoni!#INDvBAN #NidahasTrophy2018
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) March 19, 2018

"Really happy to come out of this performance. Really happy for the team. We've played really well in this tournament and to not win the final would have been unfortunate. It was not that easy to bat there. The way Mustafizur (Rahman) bowled... So I just had to go out there and hit the ball hard.

"I have been practising keeping a good base and hitting the line and luckily it came out well. The Indian team is a tough place to get an opportunity, but once you get it, you have to take it. And credit to the backroom staff, they have always supported me and I'm really happy," said Karthik after being awarded the man of the match.