It was a googly that stumped Nasser Hussain. When the Englishman was sharing the commentary box with debutante Dinesh Karthik at the recent World Test Championship final, he made an observation saying, “Rohit [Sharma] is a great puller of the short ball, uses his feet well against spin, and shows positive intent.” Karthik immediately shot back with, “Yes, exactly the opposite of you.” His tongue-in-cheek response — and indeed his entire stint during the match as a first-time commentator — won the Internet, with both experts and fans lauding his classy performance. But it’s not that Karthik didn’t lay the grounds for it. The wicket keeper-batsman prepared the pitch for his entry into the commentary box with mock drills, tutorials and conversations with former commentators, taking their critical feedback on board. It all helped him ease into the new role with the confidence of a batsman who’s facing a part-time bowler after just hitting a hundred.

Aakash Chopra