A top-edged six off Jaydev Unadkat brought up Dinesh Karthik’s second 50 of IPL11 and it couldn’t have come at a more opportune moment. He had walked in at KKR reeling at 24/3 after being put in by Rajasthan Royals. Karthik’s 50 came off 35 balls and had four fours and two sixes. (KKR v RR Eliminator live updates)
Karthik’s first scoring shot was a four, worked off his legs to Jofra Archer and while batsmen struggled to cope with spin, he seemed to be batting on a different track. Except for one ball from Ish Sodhi that caught him by surprise, Karthik never seemed in any trouble. (KKR v RR Eliminator live scorecard)
Together with Shubman Gill, he added 55 runs for the fifth wicket, eschewing risks but keeping the scoreboard moving. He took to Shreyas Gopal in the innings’ 14th over and before that had given KKR some respectability in the power play by gleaning 14 off Jaydev Unadkat in the sixth over along with Lynn.
After getting to his half-century with a six, Karthik and Russell took 19 runs off Unadkat’s second over, the innings’ 17th. By the time, Karthik went, falling to a good catch by Ajinkya Rahane off ben Laughlin, KKR’s innings looked a lot more respectable than it was when he had walked in. Karthik made 52 off 38 balls with four fours and two sixes.