India is set to take on England in the second semifinal match of the T20 World Cup on Thursday. Ahead of the clash, several predictions are being made about India's Playing XI. The question of whether Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik will keep the wickets has been raised.
While Pant finally got a game when he played against Zimbabwe, the suspense remains if he will be in the Playing XI against England or if Dinesh Karthik will be back in the side.
While Karthik hasn't fired in the role of a designated finisher, Pant has been underwhelming in whatever T20I chances he has got so far.
But what do the stats say? Karthik or Rishabh, who has performed better against England in T20Is and all formats of cricket?
Let's find out!
Dinesh Karthik vs Rishabh Pant in T20Is
Dinesh Karthik -
- Matches played: 3
- Runs scored: 29
- Highest score: 12
- Strike-Rate: 93
- 4s/6s: 4/0
- 50s/100s: 0/0
Rishabh Pant -
- Matches played: 8
- Runs scored: 134
- Highest score: 30
- Strike-Rate: 131.37
- 4s/6s: 16/4
- 50s/100s: 0/0
Dinesh Karthik vs Rishabh Pant against England in all formats of cricket -
Dinesh Karthik (2004 - 2022)
- Matches played: 17
- Runs scored: 392
- Highest score: 91
- Strike-Rate: 53.99
- 4s/6s: 47/1
- 50s/100s: 3/0
Rishabh Pant (2017 - 2022)
- Matches played: 26
- Runs scored: 1227
- Highest score: 146
- Strike-Rate: 87.64
- 4s/6s: 137/38
- 50s/100s: 6/4
Conclusion -
Rishabh Pant has fared better in comparison to Dinesh Karthik against India's opponents in the semifinals. However, their batting position is also to be taken into consideration when looking at their statistics. While Pant generally comes to bat in the top order, Karthik is assigned the role of a finisher and has fewer balls to face comparatively.
What did skipper Rohit Sharma say?
Rohit Sharma said, "Considering that we were not knowing which team we would be playing in the semis before that Zimbabwe game, we wanted to allow a left-hander to counter some of the spinners who bowled in the middle for New Zealand and England.
"And we thought Rishabh was the guy for us to go and give him some time, as well. But again, what is going to happen tomorrow, I won't be able to tell you right now," he said.
