Karthik came, saw and left in a hurry

Wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik came, saw and left in a hurry -- all in the span of 24 hours -- knowing his 23rd Test appearance would take some more time before materialising.

Karthik was plucked out of the Tamil Nadu Ranji team which would take on Himachal Pradesh in Dharamsala tomorrow and flown in as cover for captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who had sustained a minor finger injury during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad.

That his injury would not jeopardise his participation in the second Test was evident in the nets yesterday when Dhoni batted with gay abandon, hitting every bowler in sight all over the Green Park.

And once done with batting, Dhoni also sent down some medium pace stuff in the nets, signalling there was nothing to worry about.