Didn't think I had to bat, was having my cappuccino: Dinesh Karthik on finishing vs GT
Didn’t think I had to bat, was having my cappuccino: Dinesh Karthik on finishing vs GT
Dinesh Karthik revealed how he had to turn into RCB’s saviour yet again after initially not thinking he would need to bat during the match against GT at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on May 4, Saturday. Karthik calmed down RCB’s nerves and guided them to a 4-wicket win against Gujarat. RCB continue to keep their playoff hopes alive as they registered their 3rd win in a row.
While speaking to the broadcasters, Karthik revealed that he was having a cup of cappuccino and did not think that he had to bat and was in a pretty chilled out mood. Karthik suggested that he was not mentally prepared and when wickets started tumbling, he had to be ready.Â
“Started with a cup of tea and then after about 4 overs, I had a cappuccino and thought I wasn’t going to bat. I wasn’t padded up, I wasn’t mentally ready, I was just chilling. And then, things happened, and I had to pad up. I was a touch late but managed to make it. It’s a very different sort of pressure, it’s one thing about chasing down totals in an interesting way and all you need to think about is hitting boundaries.” IPL 2024, RCB vs GT: Highlights | Report
After getting off to a blazing start, when RCB were at 92 for 1 in the first 6 overs, they started to fall like a pack of cards. RCB went onto lose 6 wickets in a span of 25 runs as they were reduced to 117 for 6. IPL 2024 Full Coverage | IPL 2024 Points Table and Standings | 2024 IPL Full Schedule
HOW KARTHIK HELPED RCB CHASE 148 RUNS
Karthik opened upon how he approached the chase after RCB looked in a bit of trouble. He emphasised playing with a bit of caution as RCB had a lot of balls left to chase the target. He also mentioned that it was a good toss to win as the wicket had some moisture.Â
“But if there’s a lot of time, and you need to make sure that you are playing sensibly, it is also the need of the hour, basic cricketing skills come through. Over a period of time, that’s been my strength, so I backed myself. The pitch was initially good to bowl on, being under the covers for so long, there was a bit of moisture. It was sticky, good toss to win, and we bowled very well,” Karthik said.
Karthik played a quickfire knock of 21 runs from 12 balls to help RCB cross the line. He had come to bat in the 10th over when RCB needed only 35 runs to win the match.Â
Karthik credited the bowlers for restricting GT to a below-par total of 147 runs, which was crucial to RCB winning the match. He lauded the 92-run stand between Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli, in which the duo went ballistic and set up the win for RCB.Â
“Got to give credit to the bowlers. The way Faf and Virat batted, I don’t think you could have played some kind of shots if you were batting first. I enjoyed how they went about things.”
Karthik also revealed his chat with young batter Swapnil Singh, who finished the match with a six for RCB. Karthik said how he backed Swapnil to face GT spinner Noor Ahmed and was impressed with his batting.Â
“I told Swapnil to play for the ball that comes in. He asked me if sweep is a good option and I said, ‘If you feel sweep is a good option, back yourself to do it but commit to your shot.’ Then he executed those two sweep shots, which was really good and that was the need of the hour in a way,” Karthik said.
RCB next face PBKS on May 9.Â
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