Karthik after loss to RCB: AB de Villiers the difference between the teams

De Villiers' unbeaten 33-ball 73 proved to be the difference between the teams as Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 82 runs.

KKR's Karthik watches on as de Villiers plays a shot in the IPL.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Dinesh Karthik felt the 'world-class' AB de Villiers proved to be the difference between teams as his side slumped to a crushing 82-run defeat against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Sharjah on Monday. De Villiers' unbeaten 33-ball 73 took RCB to an eventually match-winning total of 194 for two in 20 overs.

"AB is a world-class player. He is hard to stop. He was the difference between the two teams," said Karthik. "We tried everything. The only ball was the perfect inswinging yorker. Anything else was going."

 

At the halfway stage in the tournament, KKR is fourth in the points table, and Karthik singled out the batting as one of the key reasons for the indifferent form. "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," he said.

"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."