Royal Challengers Bangalore star Dinesh Karthik, who played a vital role in his team's win against Rajasthan Royals in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Tuesday, said that he is making a conscious effort to tell himself that he is not done yet. The wicketkeeper-batter played a match-defining knock of 44* off 23 deliveries along with Shahbaz Ahmed (45 off 26), as the duo powered RCB to a memorable victory. RCB chased down the target of 170 in a high-octane clash.
Dinesh Karthik, who was adjudged as the 'Player of the Match', said in the post-match presentation: "I think I made a conscious effort this year to do justice to myself because I felt that last year, I could have done better. The way I trained was much better this time around. Hats off to the person who trained with me. I'm making a conscious effort to tell myself that I'm not done yet."
"When I went in, we needed 12 runs per over and had to keep going. I train for these situations. To stay calm and know whom you can takedown. I've tried to play as much white-ball cricket as possible, and prepare as many scenarios as possible. A lot of people have spent time with me on this journey, leading upto the tournament and it's the work that goes unnoticed mostly. I think T20 cricket, it's mostly premeditating but you also need to be clear about where to target," Karthik added while talking about the match.
Chasing 170, 28 runs were required off the final three overs amd Shahbaz Ahmed smacked a four and six each against Boult before he was cleaned up by the left-arm pacer.
The equation was down to 15 off the final two overs as Dinesh Karthik wrapped the chase in style and remained unbeaten on 44 off 23 deliveries while Harshal Patel hit the final six to take RCB home.