Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Dinesh Karthik wasn't a happy man on Sunday. Not one bit. His team suffered a 13-run loss against defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and DK's displeasure was there for all to see in a post-match interview.
Set a target of 182 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the visitors could manage only 168. This was KKR's seventh consecutive loss against MI, and Karthik knew exactly where the game turned in the hosts' favour. Speaking with former West Indian fast-bowler Ian Bishop after the match, DK looked nothing short of angry, answering each question in merely a couple of sentences.
"The way Robin Uthappa and Nitish Rana were batting, I would've been happy if one of them would've batted through. They didn't play great shots there, that kind of killed the momentum," said Karthik when asked about the turning point of the match.
Another talking point of the contest was the demotion of Sunil Narine in the batting order. The West Indian, who has been opening for KKR in IPL 2018, was sent in at seven on Sunday. On this, Karthik's explanation was terse: "He wasn't feeling that well. That's why he couldn't come out to bat."
Asked how he felt about his bowlers' performance, considering they didn't let MI get away on a high-scoring ground, DK said, "It was much better. That's one area where we'll be really happy. That was a good positive for us."
By this time in the interview, Karthik was, to put it mildly, lost in his own thoughts. Bishop asked him to reflect on MI's strategy to bowl short consistently, and all DK could say was this: "It was a wicket which always has bounce. It's a good cricketing wicket. So it was good to see." Don't be too harsh on yourself if you're wondering whether Karthik was replying to some other question altogether.
Sensing Karthik's misery, Bishop told him he knew he was feeling down. The KKR skipper fidgeted a bit and mustered a smile. The West Indian then asked him how he would lift his players for the next match. Karthik replied: "Look, every game is important for us from this stage. We'll look to take one game at a time and look to do the best in each game."
Watch Karthik's interview with Bishop HERE
Such an interview from a captain is surely not something one sees every day, but Karthik still has a lot to be hopeful about. KKR are third in the points table at the moment and a Play-Offs birth is very much possible.
