Dinesh Karthik’s unbeaten cameo that helped Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeat Rajasthan Royals (RR) by four wickets was the result of seasoned wicketkeeper-batter’s conscious effort to reinvent himself and prove that he was “not done yet”.
Karthik struck a superb unbeaten 44 off 23 deliveries and raised 67 runs for the sixth-wicket partnership with Shahbaz Ahmed (45 not out off 26 balls)) as they rescued RCB from a precarious 87 for 5 midway through the match.
“I made a conscious effort to do justice to myself. Felt I could have done better in the last few years. The way I’ve trained has been different. I was telling myself I’m not done yet. I have a goal and I want to achieve something,” said Karthik during the post-match presentation.
He said with RCB facing a tough asking rate, he planned his innings in such a way that they achieved the target.
“We needed 12 runs an over, so you need to figure out what to do. Stay calm, know your game and who you can take on. Made an effort to play white-ball cricket, practice matches and scenarios,” said the 36-year-old Karthik.
He said he prepared well for IPL 2022 and that has helped him play the way he did on Tuesday, improvising to hit big all round the ground.
“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. You have to premeditate in T20, but if it’s not there, you have to have the ability to change the shot,” said Karthik, who has represented Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Kolkata Knight Riders and Mumbai Indians earlier in the IPL and was picked by RCB in the auction this year.
