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IPL 2022: Those hours under scorching Mumbai sun paying off for Dinesh Karthik
A career that began before Dhoni’s is still going strong and RCB are reaping the benefits.
“I made an effort to play white ball cricket, practice matches and scenarios. Those are the hours you put in when no one sees. The real work is done in the lead-up, which is what I’ll give credit to,” said Dinesh Karthik after leading Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to victory over Rajasthan Royals with a swashbuckling unbeaten 44 off 23 balls.
From his Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) days, people who are regulars at Mumbai’s cricket grounds are used to seeing Karthik, often shirtless, in batting gear honing strokes for hours under a scorching sun. If he is in the city, most of the time you can find him either at Thane’s Dadoji Kondadev Stadium or the Oval Maidan.
He spends a lot of time at Abhishek Nayar’s pad in Powai. When you bump into him, he will always be coming from training: either a tough gym session or gruelling round of cricket practice.
Also Read | Dinesh Karthik steers RCB to victory over Rajasthan Royals
The past two seasons have been mediocre for Karthik. But it was not due to lack of effort. Watching the high intensity sessions under Nayar, you were watching a man on a mission.
The results are showing now. Having decided to retain a different set of players, KKR are looking at the veteran keeper-batter making a difference for his new franchise. Always in high demand, like most of his tribe of keeper-batters, this time he went for ₹5.5 crore. “We required a good No. 6 and a finisher, who we found in Karthik,” RCB coach Sanjay Bangar said after the auction.
Karthik’s aggregate is 90 runs in 44 balls in the three games so far without being dismissed: 32 (14) versus Punjab Kings; 14 (7) versus KKR and 44 (23) versus Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday.
“I made a conscious effort this year to do justice to myself because the last year, I felt I could have done better. The way I trained was much better this time around. Credit to the person who trained with me. I’m making a conscious effort to tell myself that I’m not done yet,” said Karthik, whose longevity is a tribute to his hunger for excellence, having played for India before MS Dhoni. While Dhoni leapfrogged him during the prime of their careers, Karthik is making a strong finish to emerge from the shadows and establish his own place in Indian cricket.
At the wicket after Sherfane Rutherford was dismissed, Karthik joined forces with Shahbaz Ahmed (26-ball 45) and they smacked 67 runs in 5.2 overs to change the course of the game, which at 87 for five in 12.3 overs felt like a losing battle for RCB.
Placement, not power
In this era of power hitting, where the big names are trading in sixes, Karthik is dismantling attacks by playing the field. The best contrast on Tuesday was Royals’ Jos Buttler hitting six sixes and no fours to Karthik’s seven fours and just one maximum. He does it by playing smartly and finding the gaps, hitting sweeps, reverse sweeps and scoops.
Bearing the brunt of his assault was ace off-spinner, R Ashwin, who was taken for 19 runs in an over out of 21 he conceded in the 14th.
“When I went in, we needed (a run-rate of) 12 rpo, and had to keep going. I train for these situations. To stay calm and know whom you can take down. I think T20 cricket, it’s mostly premeditating but you also need to be clear about where to target,” said Karthik.
There was an audacious scoop from outside the off-stump to the leg off Navdeep Saini, a reverse sweep off Ashwin, but every move at the crease was calculated.
When the best bowler of the match, Yuzvendra Chahal, came onto bowl the 17th over, Karthik and his batting partner, Ahmed, eschewed risks and played out the over for just four singles.
Captain Faf du Plessis couldn’t have asked for more from his finisher. For both of RCB’s wins, Karthik has made decisive contributions. Before the Royals’ game, he had completed a tricky chase against KKR by hitting the first two balls of the final over bowled by Andre Russell for a six and a four. “To pull it out of nowhere, you need some great characters and DK is as great a character as you can get. His composure under pressure is amazing. He is really calm and such a great asset to us,” said the RCB skipper, who is seen regularly leaning on his senior colleague’s reading of the situation during the game.
