IPL 2018 | Defeat against Chennai Super Kings did not come as a shock, claims Dinesh Karthik

The Kolkata Knight Riders dugout must have been overjoyed at the sight of the scoreboard after the end of the first innings in Chennai. After an Andre Russell blitzkrieg took KKR’s total to 202, they must’ve thought that it was their match to lose. But MS Dhoni-led CSK and Sam Billings had other plans.

A brilliant effort from Billings down the order helped CSK pull off a memorable win on their return to Chepauk after two years. Although the result was harsh for KKR who thought they did enough to deserve a win, it wasn’t a shocker claimed skipper Karthik.

“In this format, and in this tournament particularly, you expect close games. Because all the teams are equal, games go down to the wire. The defeat didn’t shock us, both teams played equally good cricket, they just got over the line,” said Karthik as reported by Wisden India.

Karthik was quick to add that there were vast areas of improvement in the KKR squad, especially in the bowling and fielding department.

“I don’t think it’s a concern (that pacers are leaking too many runs). (But) that’s something that we need to look into. It’s early days in the tournament so there is always room for improvement. We’ve addressed the issue (of poor fielding) and this is something all players are aware of and I think it’s one aspect that all players can contribute to. We’ve addressed it and we’re pushing for the best performance in the forthcoming games,” the skipper added.

KKR pacer Vijay Kumar came under fire from critics after two dismal performances with the ball in the death overs of KKR’s matches. His failure to defend 17 in the game against Chennai drew criticism from fans and experts alike, but Karthik backed his bowler to bounce back strongly.

“He’s bowled some real pressure overs in both games. I’ve given him the 20th over in both games, so those aren’t easy overs to bowl and he’ll be the first one to say he could have bowled a lot better, but having said that I know he’s a strong character and he’ll come back strong,” Karthik said.