Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik shared his experience of unexpectedly becoming the savior of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their IPL 2024 clash against Gujarat Titans (GT) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, May 4.
Although Karthik did not initially expect he would have to bat, he played a crucial role in Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)’s 4-wicket win over Gujarat Titans (GT) on Saturday. He played a quick knock of 21* runs off 12 balls and 4 fours to close the game for RCB as the team registered their third consecutive win, keeping their playoff hopes alive in the ongoing IPL 2024.
After the game, RCB Wicketkeeper Karthik revealed that he was casually enjoying a cup of cappuccino and was not mentally prepared to bat against the GT at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. However, when the wickets started falling, he had to forcibly prepare to take the circle for the RCB.
I wasn’t padded, I wasn’t mentally ready: Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik was quoted by Star Sports at the post-match press conference as saying: “The day started with a cup of tea, after four overs I had a cappuccino and thought I wouldn’t bat. I wasn’t padded, I wasn’t mentally ready, I was just chilling. And then something happened and I had to refill. I was a little late, but I just made it.”
Karthik also spoke about the particular pressure that comes with chasing low totals while losing wickets in quick succession. He emphasized how important it is to cross boundaries, especially in such situations, without taking unnecessary risks. Karthik mentioned that calmness and calculated aggression can help overcome such challenging situations.
Notably, after a promising start that saw RCB reach 92 for 1 in the first 6 overs, RCB quickly lost momentum as they suffered a batting collapse, losing 6 wickets for just 25 runs and finding themselves in a precarious position of 117/ 6 were there before Karthik came to save them.
It’s a completely different kind of pressure: Dinesh Karthik
The 38-year-old goalkeeper added: “It’s a whole different kind of pressure, it’s one thing to chase totals in an interesting way and all you have to think about is hitting limits.” But when you have a lot of time and you need to make sure to play sensibly is also the need of the hour then your basic cricket skills come into play as you are able to push boundaries without taking risks. Those have been my strengths over time, so I relied on those.”
At the end, Karthik discussed the pitch conditions and said that initially the track benefited the bowlers but later because it was covered for a long period of time, it became sticky due to moisture and batting in the game was difficult.
He said winning the toss really helped RCB. He also praised the RCB bowlers for their strong performance against the Gujarat team. Notably, RCB will take on the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on May 9 at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala.