Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) may have lost the highly-awaited clash against the Mumbai Indians (MI) rather badly, however, the return to form for skipper Faf du Plessis and Rajat Patidar and ongoing smashing run with the bat for Dinesh Karthik were the two bright spots in an otherwise forgettable outing for the visitors at Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, April 11. RCB's bowling was the culprit again as the Mumbai Indians chased down 197 runs with 27 balls to spare.
This season of the IPL is also a sort of dress rehearsal for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA in June. Given there's such a tough competition for spots for the tournament, especially for the wicketkeeper's position, every performance is being seen through the lens of selection. While the likes of Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan have been the frontrunners, the ageless Dinesh Karthik out of nowhere has given a serious audition.
Karthik has scored 143 runs at a strike rate of 190.66 in five innings as he has looked at home while batting in the death overs, manoeuvring the field, hitting the gaps and taking his side to their sole victory and provided a couple of more nice finishes.
Wednesday was no different as Karthik did take a few balls to get his eyes in before going berserk in the final overs and ending up with a 22-ball fifty. When Karthik arrived at the crease, his good friend and current Indian captain Rohit Sharma sledged him by teasing the T20 World Cup selection in a hilarious moment. Rohit too enjoyed it as he had a big laugh about it after he was done with the sledging.
Watch the video here:
Karthik still might have an outside chance but it looks really difficult that he will be picked given he has already expressed his intentions of this being his final IPL season and then getting ready for a tournament like T20 World Cup might be a bridge too far for the senior statesman. Even though there's no doubt in his ability, he himself mentioned that managing broadcasting with playing has taken a toll on his body.
The difference between the two teams was Jasprit Bumrah, who registered his second five-wicket haul in the IPL and became only the fourth bowler in history to achieve the record. Apart from Bumrah, RCB batters smashed every other bowler including Akash Madhwal, Shreyas Gopal, Romario Shepherd and Gerald Coetzee.
