I thought I wasn't going to bat – Dinesh Karthik on the sudden change of tide against GT

Despite the early explosion of fireworks from Faf du Plessis, RCB found themselves caught in a twirl as GT managed to claim six wickets in a span of just 25 runs, leaving the hosts with too many questions to ponder about in their chase of 148. However, as they say that when the going gets tough, the tough gets going, in a similar display of some resolute mettle, Dinesh Karthik emerged as the messiah again, propelling RCB to a fine victory over the resurgent Titans.

DK walked out to bat when RCB was crawling at 111/5, soon to be 117/6 and had to keep a calm head around his shoulders. Just when it felt that Dinesh Karthik may be playing a run-a-ball innings, particularly after the earlier batters falling to attempted glory shots, the Finisher Supreme had other plans.

Infusing aggression and calm in the same breath, DK stayed unbeaten for 21 off just 12 balls, clobbering three fours in the process. He had support from Swapnil Singh but the boundaries struck took the life away from the sudden resurgence of the Titans. Talking at the post-match presentation, Dinesh Karthik had quite a lot to say, addressing important questions about the conditions and the situations in between.

DK said, “Started with a cup of tea and then after about 4 overs, I had my first cappuccino. I thought I wasn't going to bat. I wasn't padded up, I wasn't mentally ready, I was just chilling. And then, things happened and then I had to pad up. I was a touch late but I just managed to make it.”

Shedding some light on how he paced his innings and what exactly was the rationale behind it, Karthik added, “It's a very different sort of pressure, it's one thing chasing down totals in an interesting way and all you need to think about is hitting boundaries. But if there's a lot of time and you need to make sure that playing sensibly is also the need of the hour, then your basic cricketing skills come through, how you are able to hit boundaries without taking risks. Over a period of time, that's been my strengths, so I backed myself to that.”

He also shared his two-pence about the surface, adding, “The pitch was initially good to bowl on. Being under the covers for so long, there was a bit of moisture. It was sticky, tough to start on, good toss to win and we bowled very well. Got to give credit to the bowlers. No matter what the pitch is, to keep the score under the score we kept at the end of six overs is quite a task and I thought they bowled beautifully today.”

Moving onto the early carnage carved by Faf and Virat, DK stated, “The way Faf and Virat batted, I don't think you could have played some kind of shots if you were batting first. Also, the skill that both of them have, I enjoyed how they went about things.”

He eventually concluded by talking about the all-important chat that he had with Swapnil Singh about how to face Noor Ahmad, explaining, “I told Swapnil to play for the ball that comes in so that the one that goes away remains a dot ball. It looks good but doesn't get the wicket. He asked me if sweep was a good option and I said, "If you feel sweep is a good option, back yourself to do it but commit to the shot, don't be half-hearted." Then he executed those two sweep shots which were very good and that was the need of the hour in a way.”