India was handsomely placed at the end of the first day in the opening Test against Bangladesh, thanks to some good batting by Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly.
But despite his fine knock that enabled India recover after the early loss of Wasim Jaffer's wicket, Karthik was sad that he could not go on to make a big score.
Admitting that he could have played a longer innings had he not played the rash shot that cost him his wicket, Karthik said: "I just thought that shot would come off. Perhaps, it was not the best shot to be played at that moment."
Opening the innings, Karthik scored a valiant 56.
"The team management had shown a lot of faith in me. I have confidence in my ability. I have put some runs on the board, but I could have been there a little longer," he added.
Karthik hit eight boundaries in his 102-ball knock, adding 124 runs for the second wicket with captain Rahul Dravid, who scored 61.
It was the 21-year-old's second half-century in as many matches, his previous being the 63 he made in South Africa. Then also he was given the task of the opening the batting.
"It was a challenging effort; I was a bit nervous in the beginning. As the innings progressed I settled down. Generally, I speak to senior members in the team and other senior cricketers about what is going on. I try to tighten my technique and give a good performance for the team," he said.
Jaffer was out to the very first ball of the match, when he was bowled by Mashrafe Mortaza. India then recovered through Karthik and Dravid before both fell in the space of two overs. But Sachin Tendulkar (80 not out) and Sourav Ganguly (82 not out) hit unbeaten half-centuries to take India to a healthy 295 for 3 at close.
"Things like a wicket in the first ball do not happen always. But after that the team settled down and played well for the day," Karthik said.
Karthik also believes that the wicket is an ideal batting track and the Indian bowlers too face a tough task ahead.
"There is not much in the wicket; flat one, only that the odd ball kept low. When we bowl we will have to bend the back and put the ball in the right areas. If we do that I am sure we can restrict Bangladesh and do well in the first match," he said.
