IPL 2020 | Unfair to judge Pat Cummins on the game against Mumbai Indians, slams Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik has proclaimed that it is highly unfair to judge the Australian all-rounder Pat Cummins on the game against Mumbai, with him just being cleared to play in the afternoon. On the other hand, Karthik heaped praise on the youngster Shivam Mavi for hitting the right line and length.
KKR have always started an IPL season with a win but against Mumbai Indians, their performance was far from that. Despite winning the toss and getting the wicket of Quinton de Kock early upfront, the KKR bowlers struggled to contain the dominant Mumbai middle-order, consisting of Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard. The trio alongside Rohit Sharma and Saurabh Tiwary ensured that the bowlers were punished, setting up a target of 196 for the men in purple and gold to chase.
One of the main culprits in the two-time IPL winning franchise conceding 196 was the Rs 15.5 crore recruit, Pat Cummins. The no.1 Test bowler was taken for a ride by the Mumbai batsman, who absolutely loved his pace on their bat, inflitcting 49 runs off his three overs leading Dinesh Karthik to look elsewhere for bowling options. Despite the result and Cummins’ form, the KKR skipper proclaimed that it is unfair to judge the premier pacer by the game against Mumbai, showcasing his confidence.
"It is very unfair to judge him right now, he is just off quarantine and he got permission at 3:34 to play the match. We are happy to have him and I do not think this is the game where we need to judge him at all. He is a world champion bowler. I trust him completely and I am sure he will make a good comeback," Karthik said in the post-match press conference, reported ANI.
However, it was not all negative for the Knight Riders, who had their talented youngster Shivam Mavi return to the setup after a long layoff. In just his first spell, Mavi’s pace troubled the Mumbai duo of Rohit-de Kock and eventually, it also paid off with the wicket of the Proteas wicketkeeper. In his last spell, the right-arm pacer managed to do well to contain the dangerous Kieron Pollard to just 13 runs off his over.
“Oh I think he was absolutely good up front and he has worked hard. The poor guy missed out due to injury last year and he is really looking forward to the competition. He’s shaping up well and it is really good for KKR,” he added.
Another criticism for the Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper yesterday was his decision to send Andre Russell down the order alongside his move to promote himself. However, Karthik put it down to tactics and admitted that a left-right combination gives the batting team an edge.
“It is a strategy, it is not easy for the bowlers to bowl consistently well to left handers and right handers. Even if they get their lines a little wrong, they could go for runs. That was the plan and we have plenty of resources and that is why we keep doing that.”
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