Nidahas Trophy 2018: India Win — Dinesh Karthik's 29* Off 8 Balls and Last-Ball Six Over Washington Sundar Player of Tournament

India won the Nidahas Trophy 2018 — a tri-series involving India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka hosted in Sri Lanka — on 18 March 2018 at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. In the final, India beat Bangladesh by 4 wickets. Bangladesh scored 166/8 in 20 overs (Sabbir Rahman top-scored with 77). India chased 168/6 in 20 overs — Dinesh Karthik scoring 29* off 8 balls, including hitting the final delivery of the match for six to win after India needed 5 runs off the last ball. Washington Sundar won Player of the Tournament with 8 wickets across the tri-series. Rohit Sharma captained India; Shakib Al Hasan captained Bangladesh in the final (Mahmudullah had captained Bangladesh's earlier matches before Shakib rejoined the squad).

Karthik 29* Off 8 Balls: Five Runs Needed Off the Last Ball, Six Scored

Dinesh Karthik walking in during the final over with India still needing runs — and then hitting the last ball of the match, bowled by Soumya Sarkar, for six to win the Nidahas Trophy final — gave the 2018 tri-series its defining moment: a wicketkeeper-batter who had not been a regular India starter for most of his career, scoring an unbeaten 29 off 8 balls at the R. Premadasa Stadium to complete what had appeared an improbable chase. India entered the final over needing 12 runs; on the fifth ball, Vijay Shankar was dismissed — leaving Karthik needing 5 runs off the very last delivery. Karthik's six off Soumya Sarkar's final ball — a flat, hard-struck shot over the boundary — gave India a 4-wicket win. Karthik's innings (2 fours, 3 sixes from 8 deliveries) had the highest strike rate of any India batter in the final and was the match's decisive contribution, earning him the reputation as one of Indian cricket's most reliable finishers in T20 formats — a role that would evolve into his IPL franchise value over the following years.

Sabbir Rahman 77: Bangladesh's Top Scorer Who Still Could Not Defend 167

Sabbir Rahman scoring 77 — Bangladesh's top score in their 166/8 total — gave the 2018 Nidahas Trophy final its leading individual batting performance from the losing side: a number that built Bangladesh's competitive total but ultimately could not withstand Karthik's finishing. Bangladesh's 166/8 was a competitive T20 total on a Colombo surface, and Shakib Al Hasan's bowling attack restricted India's chase to 168/6 — holding India to 4 wickets while keeping the required run rate climbing throughout — until Karthik's final over took the game away. Washington Sundar, whose 8 wickets across the full tri-series won him the Player of the Tournament award — given the off-spinner's ability to restrict batting in the powerplay with his tight line and turn — gave India's bowling attack its most consistent performer across the full competition beyond the final's decisive batting contribution.

Nidahas Trophy 2018 in Context

The Nidahas Trophy 2018 — held in Sri Lanka across March 2018 — was a tri-series T20I tournament that gave India a bilateral T20I title win in Sri Lankan conditions before the 2018 Asia Cup (won by India in September 2018). Rohit Sharma's captaincy of India — Virat Kohli rested for the tri-series — to the Nidahas title gave Rohit his first significant captaincy win as India's stand-in T20I captain, the beginning of the Rohit-as-T20I-captain phase that would culminate in the T20 WC 2024 final win. Bangladesh reaching the Nidahas Trophy final — eliminating Sri Lanka at the semi-final stage — reflected Bangladesh's growing T20 strength across the 2016-2018 period, their aggressive batting style (Sabbir 77 in the final) producing competitive totals even on Sri Lankan conditions. The Nidahas Trophy 2018 was not a repeat event; it was the only edition of the tournament held in this format.