"One of the best finishers in the game, scores in unorthodox areas" - Keshav Maharaj on Dinesh Karthik after IND vs SA 4th T20I

South African left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj has admitted that Dinesh Karthik is very difficult to bowl to when he is in full flow. The 37-year-old smashed his maiden T20I half-ton on Friday and helped India level the five-match T20I series 2-2 in Rajkot.

Maharaj bowled the 17th over of the first innings and conceded three boundaries off four balls against Dinesh Karthik. He was left a bit baffled by the way Karthik used different angles to dominate the bowler.

Speaking to reporters after the match, Maharaj claimed that Dinesh Karthik is currently one of the best finishers in the game:

"He (Karthik) has been in serious form in the role he is fulfilling. He is certainly one of the best finishers in the game. He scores in unorthodox areas which makes him difficult to bowl to. We saw why he was one of the leading performers in the IPL. He showed his class today and played exceptionally well."

"It is a good test for our cricket team" - Keshav Maharaj on the series decider in Bengaluru

Keshav Maharaj isn't too bothered by the fact that South Africa are in a must-win situation despite having a 2-0 lead at one point. He feels India are a really strong team and that would only make the final T20I in Bengaluru more exciting. On this, he stated:

"We had a bit of momentum in the first two and India got in the next two. It makes that much more exciting to go to Bangalore, the crowds have been amazing so far, it will add to the excitement. Also it is a good test for our cricket team to see how far we have come to play in events like these and try and clinch the series against a strong Indian outfit."

Maharaj was also at the receiving end of Avesh Khan's brilliance as the latter picked up figures of 4/18. Commenting on Khan, he said:

"Avesh adapted really well and kept it really simple and got the reward for consistent and controlled bowling."

Bengaluru has often produced a cracking pitch for T20 cricket and we could be in for an absolute humdinger on Sunday, June 19.