Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 1 run at the Eden Gardens. It was RCB’s seventh loss in the Indian Premier League 2024, and they are almost out of the playoff race. Former India player Irfan Pathan held Dinesh Karthik responsible for the setback against Kolkata and the likely failure to qualify for the playoffs.
He highlighted Karthik’s refusal to take a single twice, and the team lost by 1 run in the end. In the 19th over of the run chase, Karthik was batting with Karn Sharma. Andre Russell bowled a tight line and length to one of the best finishers in the 17th season. Karthik could have taken 1 run on the second and fourth deliveries of the over but decided against it.
“We all focused on Virat Kohli’s dismissal and how it played a part in the defeat. However, if you look closely, Dinesh Karthik was responsible for the loss. He should have taken a single on two occasions, but the veteran didn’t trust Karn Sharma, who hit three sixes in Mitchell Starc’s bowling after Russell undid DK. His mistake resulted in RCB’s defeat and eliminated the team from the playoff race.
“As a batter, you should trust your batting partner. Karn knows how to bat and he can score runs but sadly DK failed to understand the situation and paid a heavy price,” Irfan Pathan said.
RCB were chasing 223 runs and had put the hosts out of the contest at one stage. Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar hit attacking fifties, but Russell’s double-wicket over handed the advantage to the Shreyas Iyer-led franchise.
The game went to the match’s last ball, and Karn ran out while trying to take two runs to level the scores for a Super Over. The brilliant work by Phil Salt scripted a 1 run win for the two-time champions.
