Published: May 04, 2019, 12:48 AM (IST)
Edited: May 04, 2019, 12:48 AM (IST)
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik was pictured having an animated chat with his team-mates during their Indian Premier League (IPL 2019) match against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali on Friday.
DK, known for his calm demeanour, was seen lashing out at his team at the end of the first strategic time-out in the KXIP innings. Quizzed what was the discussion about, Karthik informed that he wasn’t too happy with the body language of his side.
“I wasn’t too happy with the what the bowlers and the fielders were doing, so I thought I should let the boys know what I felt at that time. It is rare, not many people have seen me angry. If I feel I need to be angry to get the best out of the boys, then maybe,” Karthik said after Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 65 propelled KKR to a crushing seven-wicket win.
“The last over went for 10 runs too many, but we have to give it to Sam Curran. IPL is that kind of a tournament where someone comes in and scores runs for you, so there’s that balance. It’s a big ground, but we did the small things well. Ran well, put pressure on the bowler, and good execution on the batsmen,” he said. (CHECK OUT: IPL 2019 results: Points table standings – updated after KXIP vs KKR match)
Talking about Gill’s superlative knock that had maturity combined with aggression, DK said: “It’s fair that we have given Gill a chance at the top of the order, and he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands.”
Meanwhile, Gill, who was awarded the Man of the Match, was elated that he could register one of his most memorable IPL knocks on his ‘home ground’.
“It feels great, my first MoM at my home ground. Can’t get better than this. It was important to build partnership. I was striking it at 80-100 but the run-rate was still going around 9-10, so that’s when I decided I had to stay in there,” he said.
“Even some relatives from my village came to watch so it’s great to play in front of everyone. We have one more match to go, and it would be very nice if we can win that and make it into the playoffs.”
