IPL 2020 | AB de Villiers is a world-class player, was difference between the two sides, admits Dinesh Karthik

After winning two cliffhangers against Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab respectively, Kolkata Knight Riders had a rather harsh reality check as RCB didn't let the match go anywhere close and annihilated Dinesh Karthik's men brutally thanks to an AB de Villiers special, which outshone everything in the game in Sharjah. With the loss, KKR and RCB swapped places in the IPL points table with RCB moving ahead to the third position while KKR fell to a fourth position. Batting first, RCB made a whopping 194, which was too much for Kolkata on a slow pitch, with Sudar and Chahal putting up a spin masterclass. 

Speaking in the post-match presentation, KKR skipper Dinesh Karthik stated that 'world-class' AB de Villiers was just too good as he was the difference between the two sides. DK also stressed that the team needs to sit down and correct the wrongs after a terrible loss at the hands of Kohli's men.

"AB is a world-class player. He is hard to stop. He was the difference between the two teams. We tried everything. The only ball was the perfect inswinging yorker. Anything else was going. We need to sit down. There are a few things we need to do better. Even if we had restricted them to 175, there are a few things we need to do better the batting. Let's be honest. Every captain has a day when things don't go right. But there are a lot of good days I can remember as well, and I will want to stick on to them," Dinesh Karthik stated in the post-match presentation.

Not only Kolkata's batting failed but their bowlers were quite expensive with Andre Russell going for 51 runs while Prasidh Krishna gave away 42 and pace spearhead Pat Cummins going for 38 runs. Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy was the most economical of all the bowlers as he conceded 25 and Kolkata dearly missed the services of Sunil Narine, whom they had dropped for adding Tom Banton to the side, surprisingly demoting Rahul Tripathi yet again. 

Now, KKR will next take on Mumbai Indians on October 16 in Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Defending champions Mumbai are the table-toppers in the 13th edition of the IPL so far.