Dinesh Karthik was in the eye of the storm during India vs New Zealand, 3rd T20I in Hamilton for refusing single to Krunal Pandya during the last over of the match. Many cricket experts including Harbhajan Singh and Sanjay Manjrekar lashed out at Karthik for the act. The wicket-keeper batsman was even trolled mercilessly on social media for the same. Now, Karthik has opened up about the controversy and said he genuinely believed that he could hit a six.  Mumbai Indians Troll Dinesh Karthik For Denying Krunal Pandya a Crucial Single During Nail-Biting India vs New Zealand 3rd T20I Match!.

While speaking to PTI, Karthik even said that he and Krunal batted well. "I think Krunal and I batted really well from that situation (145/6). We were able to bring the match down to a place where the bowlers were under pressure. We backed ourselves to do the job. And at that stage (after refusing the single), I genuinely believed that I could hit a six,” explained Karthik. Harbhajan Singh and Sanjay Manjrekar Slam Dinesh Karthik For Turning Down a Single During IND vs NZ, 3rd T20I.

He also gave full marks to Tim Southee for bowling well under pressure. Karthik also said that being a middle-order batsman one has to trust himself for hitting big shots. "Some days you are able to hit a boundary, some days the bowler does a good job. And there, you have to give credit to Time Southee for the way he executed those yorkers under pressure. One mistake there and I am sure we would have taken him down," said Karthik. The match ended with India failing four runs short to victory as they chased the total of 213 runs.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 14, 2019 09:02 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).