Dinesh Karthik rues Gujarat Lions’ inability to defend totals in IPL 2017

Dinesh Karthik has said Gujarat Lions’ inability to defend totals in the 2017 Indian Premier League was the main reason for their elimination from the play-off race after losing by seven wickets to Delhi Daredevils.

Gujarat Lions posted 208/7, their highest total in the history of the Indian Premier League in their clash against Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Thursday. However, it was not enough as Rishabh Pant’s brutal 97 off 43 balls helped Delhi Daredevils achieve the second-highest successful chase in the IPL.

Gujarat Lions’ Dinesh Karthik (L) scored 65 against Delhi Daredevils but his team lost the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 match. (AFP)

Delhi Daredevils’ seven-wicket win pushed Gujarat Lions out of the play-off race and Dinesh Karthik said that the inability to defend totals in this edition was the main reason behind their exit.

Speaking in the post-match press conference, Karthik said, “We have not been able to defend one score till now. We are heavily dependant on our batting. That puts a lot of pressure on the batsman to score big. We got a big score today but Delhi chased it down in just 18 overs. That has been the story of our season.”

Read | Why Delhi Daredevils’ IPL 2017 hero Rishabh Pant was fearless in huge chase

In the 2017 edition, Gujarat Lions have indeed struggled to defend big totals. Against Kolkata Knight Riders, they lost by 10 wickets while posting 183. Against Mumbai Indians, they could not defend 176 while in this game against Delhi Daredevils, they failed to defend 208.

Karthik added that the skills shown by Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson took the game away from them. “The first half belonged to us. However, Delhi Daredevils dominated the second half. Credit to Pant and Samson for the way they played. Hitting boundaries at will and making the ground look small was a tribute to their skill set,” the wicketkeeper-batsman said.

Read | Rishabh Pant’s blitzkrieg keeps Delhi Daredevils’ IPL 2017 playoff hopes alive

Gujarat Lions will be hoping to spoil the party of the other teams and their next match will be against Kings XI Punjab, another team in the race for the play-offs, on Sunday in Mohali.