Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull lavished huge praise on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)’s finisher Dinesh Karthik for his stunning show versus Punjab Kings (PBKS) in match 6 of the ongoing IPL 2024 edition. Playing at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, RCB restricted Punjab to 176 for 6 before chasing down the score in 19.2 overs with four wickets in hand courtesy of Virat Kohli’s 49-ball 77, DK’s 10-ball 28* and Mahipal Lomror’s 8-ball 17*. After the game, Doull praised Karthik for making full use of his experience as a finisher to take Bengaluru home in a tense run-chase.

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DK came out to bat at No. 7 with RCB needing 47 off the last 30 balls. While he lost Anuj Rawat soon, he stitched a valuable unbeaten 48-run stand with Lomror (the impact substitute) to take his side to their first win of the 17th season on Monday evening (March 25). Thus, Doull appreciated DK’s mindset of handling the pressure and understanding what the bowlers were trying to do. He even compared him with MS Dhoni, one of the greatest white-ball finishers. 

‘It was straight out of the MS Dhoni school’

Doull said on Cricbuzz, “Just shows you the pressure of the situation. I think that’s the key to those who hold their nerve a little bit better. That’s why when you’ve got a Dinesh Karthik to get at the backend with that experience. We talked about what he passes on to the youngsters and the side but it’s the experience of keeping calm and understanding what the bowler is trying to do, knowing where your strengths are. It’s was straight out of the MS Dhoni school.”

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He further added, “The deeper you take it as a batting side, the more pressure the bowlers will be under even if you do need quite a large total, even if you need, 36 of three overs, the deeper you take it, the bowlers will feel more pressure and that’s exactly what happened. There was some indifferent bowling at times with the wrong field-sets but you’ve still got to be able to finish it off and be cool and that calm under pressure.”

Earlier, Mohammed Siraj and Glenn Maxwell accounted for two wickets apiece to restrict Shikhar Dhawan-led Punjab to 176-6 before chasing down the score in the last over. RCB will now host Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Friday evening (March 29). 

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