IPL 2020 in UAE: Dinesh Karthik backs his Kolkata Knight Riders to improve against Sunrisers Hyderabad
KKR skipper insists players will continue evolving and improving over time
Dubai: Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik is expecting a much better display from his team going into their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2020 Indian Premier League in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
KKR went down to Mumbai Indians by 49 runs in their opening match of the IPL in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, thanks mainly to some explosive batting displays from Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma (80 off 54 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (47 off 28).
Winning the toss and electing to field, KKR did well to restrict Mumbai to 195-5. The Knights started off well with Shivam Mavi and Sandeep Warrier posing a few problems to the opening pair of Sharma and Quinton de Kock with some early swing.
Mavi, who was with the India Under-19 squad in 2018, was quick to dismiss de Kock for just one run in his opening over that culminated into a wicket maiden. But soon after, the juggernaut started as Rohit and Yadav went all out with their hitting prowess.
Despite the flow of runs, it was Mavi and West Indies’ Sunil Narine doing well with their bowling with 21-year-old Mavi picking up two wickets for 32 runs, while Sunil Narine gave away just 22 runs and took one wicket.
Mavi, who was making his appearance in an IPL match after sitting out the entire last season due to an injury, impressed everyone by varying his pace as and when required. Narine also showed some spark with the ball as he turned out to be the most economical bowler of the match.
Karthik, who entrusted the young Mavi with the final over, was pleased with the way the youngster was shaping up. “I think he was looking really good upfront. The poor guy missed out last year due to injury. But this year, he is shaping up well and that’s a good sign for KKR,” Karthik told the team’s official website.
Much was expected of Australian pacer Pat Cummins, one of the biggest buys of the auctions held in December last year. The speedster, who joined the KKR squad only last week following Australia’s tour of England. Playing in his first match, the 27-year-old struggled for form while giving away 49 runs in his three overs.
Karthik insisted that it would be too harsh to judge Cummins right away. “I think it’s very unfair to judge him right now. He just came out of the quarantine. It was literally at 3.34pm today when he got the permission to play the match. We are happy to have him. He is a world champion bowler and I trust him completely. I am sure he will come good,” Karthik said.