Dinesh Karthik scored 35 ball 83 against SRH© BCCI/Sportzpics
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) suffered their 6th defeat in 7 matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), a team that is on a strong run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Chasing the target of 288, the highest in IPL history, RCB got off to a good start, with Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis firing on all cylinders. But their dismissal, followed by a middle-order collapse, put the Sunrisers in control before Dinesh Karthik produced an unprecedented blitz. The veteran wicket-keeper batter scored a 35-ball 83 to keep RCB’s hopes alive. Although he couldn’t bring the team home, Karthik’s efforts won the hearts of many on social media.
Even during the match, former England captain Kevin Pietersen made a scintillating comment on Karthik saying, “I have never seen such a good commentator.”
With this statement, Pietersen is referring to Karthik’s comments over the past year. The wicketkeeper-batter was one of the broadcaster’s panel commentators for a number of Indian missions abroad. 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 the IPL, he remains one of the best finishers in the game.
After the match, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis admitted that his team had no place to hide. But he praised the batting side’s efforts despite chasing the highest ever target in IPL history.
“Much better (batting performance) from us; it was a proper T20 wicket. I just tried to get close at the end, but 280 was very far away. It’s difficult. We tried several things; we We’ve tried different things. There’s no hiding when your confidence is low. The fast bowlers found it quite difficult. We need to work on a few areas. run does not decrease after the power play,” Du Plessis said during the post-match presentation ceremony.
“The guys put their hands up and never gave up (in the run chase). It was good to see the fight. Thirty to forty runs from a bowling point of view was a bit too much. It “It’s important to go away and refresh your mind; it’s such a mental game sometimes you feel like your mind is going to explode. When you come back to the competition you have to fully commit.” he adds.
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