Dinesh Karthik scored 35-ball 83 against SRH© BCCI/Sportzpics
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) suffered their 6th defeat in 7 matches as they came up against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), a team that is on a juggernaut run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Chasing the target of 288, the highest in IPL history, RCB got off to a fine start, with Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis going all guns blazing. But, their dismissal, followed by a middle-order collapse put the Sunrisers in control before Dinesh Karthik produced a never-seen-before blitz. The veteran wicket-keeper batter scored 35-ball 83 to keep RCB’s hopes alive. Though he couldn’t take the team home, Karthik’s effort won the hearts of many on social media.
Even during the course of the match, former England captain, Kevin Pietersen, gave a scintillating comment on Karthik as he said: “Never seen a commentator bat so well.”
By the statement, Pietersen is referring to Karthik’s commentary stints over the last year or so. The wicket-keeper batter was one of the commentators on the panel of the broadcaster for a number of India’s overseas assignments. He has also worked as a pundit for many of the Indian team’s home series. But, when it comes to T20 cricket, especially in IPL, he remains one of the best finishers in the game.
After the game, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis admitted that there’s no place for his team to hide. But, he did hail the effort put in by the batting team despite chasing the highest-ever target in IPL history.
“Much better (batting performance) from us; that was a proper T20 wicket. I just tried to get close in the end, but 280 was very far. It is tough. We tried a few things; we tried different things. There is no way to hide when your confidence is low. The fast bowlers found it quite difficult out there. Similar to the batting perspective, we need to work on a few areas. We need to make sure the run rate does not go down after the powerplay,” Du Plessis said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“The guys put up their hands and never gave up (in the run chase). It was good to see the fight. Thirty to forty runs from the bowling perspective were a bit too much. It’s important to go away and freshen your mind; it’s such a mental game. Sometimes you feel like your mind is going to explode. When you get back to the contest, you have to give your full commitment,” he added.
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