Dinesh Karthik applauded swashbuckling batters Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis for batting with intent in Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) convincing eight-wicket win over Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday, April 2 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. After being asked to chase down 172, RCB got off to a flying start courtesy of a 148-run opening stand between du Plessis and Kohli which came in 14.5 overs as well.

However, Karthik also applauded the bowlers for keeping a check on the Mumbai Indians batters, although he admitted that Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 84-run knock changed the scenario a bit.

READ MORE: ‘Could have gone deeper’ – Shubman Gill on his knock

“We played some good cricket, we got some wickets upfront, and we controlled it through the middle. Yes, they got away in the end a little bit, but yes, that tends to happen in T20 cricket. The way both openers batted was brilliant, two legends of this game coming out with a lot of intent. You’ve got to understand that a match is played at Bangalore after three years. They have been deprived of the fact that they haven’t watched us closely,” Dinesh Karthik was quoted as saying on Jio TV.

However, after Arshad Khan dismissed Faf du Plessis, who scored 73 runs off 43 balls, Dinesh Karthik was sent to bat at No.3. But the move didn’t work out as Karthik departed for a three-ball duck after Cameron Green removed him. Karthik said that he was sent higher up the order because RCB wanted to finish the game as early as possible.

ALSO READ: Viacom18 bags WIPL Media Rights for 5 years

“The intent was great, just the way we approached with the bat. We didn’t let go of the match anytime, we dominated the powerplay, played well through the middle. They made an honest effort, sending me out there, although it didn’t play. But it was a statement that they wanted to finish the game as early as possible. These are all positive signs for a team that is looking to set in stone the way it wants to play,” Dinesh Karthik concluded.