IPL 2019: KKR bowlers didn’t bowl well, says captain Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik felt his team’s total of 160 against Sunrisers Hyderabad was defendable.

David Warner (left) and Jonny Bairstow (right) “made things look very easy,” says Dinesh Karthik.

Knight Riders’ bowlers did not bowl well to defend what was a defendable total of 159, captain Dinesh Karthik said after his team’s nine-wicket defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

“Well, you saw two good players going all guns blazing and made things look very easy,” he said. referring to Sunrisers openers David Warner and Jonny Bairstow’s century partnership.

REPORT | Warner, Bairstow raze KKR

Karthik said Kuldeep Yadav, the left-arm wrist spinner, was dropped as he was not bowling as well as they would have liked. He felt Knight Riders wasn’t overly dependent on Andre Russell, and that the team’s other batsmen did well. “We are not over-dependent [on] Andre Russell. If you look today’s batting, the rest of the batsmen did well. Russell certainly has a set role for him in the team and he is happy with the place in the team and no complaints from his side,” Karthik said.

‘Beauty of IPL’

“If you are winning, you win find ways to win and when you lose find ways to lose. These are all the challenges and the beauty of IPL. But, I feel that we got some genuine match-winners who can do something special in the games to come,” Karthik said.

Sunrisers leg-spinner Rashid Khan said the credit for the win should go to the bowling unit for backing their skills and then to the opening pair of Warner and Bairstow for another amazing partnership. “Definitely, I was held back for a couple of overs to take on Russell because of the good record I have against him, having dismissed him twice earlier. You all know about his unbelievable hitting, especially against fast bowlers. Though I bowled just one ball to him this evening, we stuck to the task,” he said.

MORE FROM IPL 2019

What makes him a different leg-spinner? According to Rashid, his release point is different — it is higher; he is also quicker than other spinners. “This makes it difficult for the batsmen for I love to bowl at an average speed of 94-95 kmph not 86 kmph,” he said.

Reflecting on how he would have bowled to Warner, a smiling Rashid said one needed to back himself and hope for the best by bowling the best deliveries.