Dinesh Karthik has made the most of his experience with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) during the first T20 International against the West Indies, as he helped India chase a tricky target to win the match by 5 wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.

Karthik showed the composure that makes him a stand-out performer for KKR in the IPL by scoring 31* off 34 balls at Eden Garden, where all Indian batters failed to cross the 20 runs mark and beat the Windies by five wickets in the series opener of the three-match T20I series on Sunday (November 4).

As per reports in Hindustan Times, Karthik told reporters after the match, “It’s got a lot of bounce and seam movement. This wicket is a good wicket to bat on and has got something for the bowlers as well. We shouldn’t get carried away by the score.”

Meanwhile, the wicket-keeper batsman is also impressed with the way the young West Indies bowlers bowled to create pressure on experienced campaigners like Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan.

The Tamil Nadu man further added on the same, “They bowled some good balls upfront - the balls they bowled to Shikhar and Rohit were special. When someone’s bowling above 140, getting the ball to seam and bounce - it’s hard. They were two good wickets.”

He is well aware of his responsibility as a senior member of the national team, saying his job is to ensure that he absorbs pressure in chases and tricky situations to help his team to win the games.

Karthik signed off by saying, “That’s my role here — when there’s pressure, absorb the pressure, try and help the team win. As a senior player, that’s my role in the team. At the same time, play confident cricket. It was important that the good bowlers were seen through.”

(With Hindustan Times inputs)