IPL 2018: Dinesh Karthik Still Eyeing Playoff Spot After Heavy Loss Against Mumbai Indians

At a time when every team is looking to up the ante, Kolkata Knight Riders are moving in the opposite direction. The two-time Indian Premier League champions were looking well set to make it to the playoffs before they met defending champions, Mumbai Indians.

Four days, two games, two defeats and all of a sudden, the Dinesh Karthik-led side is staring down the barrel. For the first time this season, the Knight Riders are out of the top four and have a negative net run rate. On Wednesday (May 9), Mumbai Indians decimated them to move to the top four.

Barring the toss, nothing went Knight Riders’ way, as they suffered their eighth consecutive defeat against Mumbai.  The two-time IPL champions never looked in contention to chase down a huge 210. They lost wickets at regular intervals and were 72 for six at the end of the tenth over.

Sunil Narine failed to fire at the top. Kolkata’s hopes of getting a good platform then took another blow when Chris Lynn was run out for 21.

Robin Uthappa and Andre Russell also failed to get going, as Kolkata were reduced to 54 for four. Dinesh Karthik and Nitish Rana then departed off successive balls to leave their side reeling at 67 for six. Wickets kept on falling at regular intervals. The lower-order tried to delay the inevitable for a while before the hosts were bundled up for a paltry 108.

Early in the game, Ishan Kishan’s whirlwind 21-ball 62 runs knock had propelled Mumbai to a mammoth 210 for six.

Knight Riders now face an upheaval task in making it to the playoffs. They need to win all three of their remaining games to advance. And while the work is not a mean one by any stretch of the imagination, Knight Riders skipper Dinesh Karthik is optimistic of his team’s chances.

“Do I feel the playoffs are possible? Definitely yes. We have three games, and we take one game at a time. If we win them, we can go through. I believe in that, and I want my teammates to believe in that. At this point, that is the important thing,” said Karthik at the post-match press conference.

Karthik further admitted bouncing back from the mauling is the biggest challenge for his side. However, he was quick to point out that the players need to move on quickly.

“That’s the biggest challenge, isn’t it for a sportsperson? You are going to get nights like these where you have been outplayed. You have got to give credit to Mumbai Indians; they played some real good cricket, they batted really well in the middle, and that changed the course of the match. As a sportsman, these are the challenges you face: how quickly you are able to forget this and move on to the next match,” said Karthik.

One of the reasons behind Knight Riders’ off day was the poor performance from Kuldeep Yadav. The chinaman spinner got hit for five sixes by Ishan Kishan, four of them coming on successive deliveries.

“He’s somebody who has given us a lot of control in the middle overs and when he goes for runs, it’s hard. But these things happen,” said Karthik.

Knight Riders will next take on Kings XI Punjab in a must-win clash on Saturday.