BENGALURU: 30, 0, 1, 6 and 12. Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik came into Saturday's match against Kings XI Punjab in Abu Dhabi with a string of poor performances under his belt. No doubt, the Tamil Nadu man was under pressure to deliver with the bat and lead by example.
The 25-year-old got an opportunity and hit an important 29-ball 58, steering his team to 164/6. That innings proved decisive, with Punjab succumbing to a two-run defeat.
In a match Kolkata had little chance of winning, KL Rahul's Pinjab were in the driver's seat for a majority of the second innings and the first innings. With Rahul and Mayank Agarwal involved in a solid opening partnership of 115, their second win of the season seemed a matter of time.
But things went downhill just when it appeared Punjab had it wrapped. After the fall of Mayank who made 56 off 39 (4x6, 6x1), Punjab's heavily-criticised middle-order crumbled under pressure. Nicholas Pooran started well after being sent in at No 3 before getting out for 16.
Prabhsimran Singh (4) and Mandeep Singh (0) did not help the team’s cause either. The biggest blow came when Rahul (74 off 58, 4x8) fell in the penultimate over. It was a key over bowled by Prasidh Krishna, who conceded just six runs and took two wickets. In the end, Glenn Maxwell’s 5-ball 10 was not enough.
Credit goes also to the Kolkata bowlers, especially Sunil Narine (2/28) and Prasidh (3/29), who was playing his first match of this edition. They defended 22 runs in the last three overs by bowling clever lines, which rendered the special knocks of Rahul and Mayank meaningless.
Though the bowlers finished it off for Kolkata at the death, Karthik deserves special praise. He walked into bat in the 11th over, when his team was going at less than six per over. Although Shubman Gill (57 off 47) was playing a responsible knock, the situation demanded something drastic.
The skipper raised his hand and hit his first six in the 14th over. There was no stopping him after that. Karthik hit eight fours and two sixes to bring up his fifty in 22 balls and provided a great finish.
Brief Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders:164 for 6 in 20 overs (Dinesh Karthik 58; Arshdeep Singh 1/25, Ravi Bishnoi 1/25). KXIP 162/5 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 74, Mayank Aharwal 56).