Dinesh Karthik was a disappointed captain as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) suffered a 18-run defeat at the hands of Delhi Capitals in Match 16 of the IPL 2020 in Sharjah on Saturday (October 3). However, Karthik was proud of his team’s batting performance despite the failed chase of 229.
Chasing the daunting target, KKR were tottering at 122 for 6 in the 14th over. However, Eoin Morgan (44 off 18 balls) and Rahul Tripathi (36 off 16 balls) produced late blitz, smashing 78 runs in just 30 balls to give Kolkata a glimmer of hope.
"The way the boys batted is something I am really proud of, we kept fighting till the end which is the nature of our team. Really happy with the effort we put in today," Karthik said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
"Maybe in between 10-13 overs we didn't get many boundaries, we lost a couple of wickets as well which sets you back in such run chases.
"To be honest, couple more sixes and we would have crossed the line, we wouldn't be talking about the lengths. I thought it was a hard wicket to bowl on and the bowlers did a fabulous job, maybe 10 runs too many but it's okay,” he added.
Unlike last year, West Indies swashbuckler Andre Russell has had an average IPL so far. He made 13 off 8 balls against the Capitals but Karthik wants to give him enough time to create an impact.
"We trust him (Russell) and believe he is the best in the business, we want to give him enough time to create an impact on the game and that's something we want to encourage,” he remarked.
The KKR skipper also shared his thoughts on Sunil Narine’s failure at the top.
"I haven't thought about it (making the change at the top) but maybe after this game, I will sit down with the coaching staff. We still believe in Narine and whenever he gets going he gets us off to a great start," he said.
Knight Riders will take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their next match on October 7.
(Inputs from India Today)
