Dinesh Karthik’s two significant innings – 58 off 29 balls against Kings XI Punjab and an unbeaten 29 off 14 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad – for Kolkata Knight Riders this year have come batting at No.5 and No.6. Anything higher than that, his scores have been 1, 6, 12, 1 and 4, proving that finishing the job’s seems to his forte in the shortest format of the game.
Stressing on the same point, former India cricketer Sanjay Manrjekar said, No.6 is where you get the best value out of DK the batsman.
“Finally the right utilisation of DK the batsman. No 6 with about 5 overs left. That’s when you get the greatest value out of him. The impact innings,” tweeted Manrjekar during KKR’s innings.
Karthik came in when KKR were 105 for 4 in 15 overs. He hit two sixes and two fours and put together an unbeaten 58-run stand with Eoin Morgan to take KKR to 163 for 5 after being asked to bat first by Sunrisers Hyderabad captain David Warner.
It was Morgan (34) and Karthik’s partnership that provided the much-needed push to the otherwise struggling KKR innings and pushed their total to 163, which in the end proved pivotal.
KKR have now solidified their position in the top four with 10 points in 9 matches.
