IPL 2022: Dinesh Karthik’s finishing skills on the same level as MS Dhoni, says RCB captain Faf du Plessis

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis was all praise for Shahbaz Ahmed and Dinesh Karthik after the win over table toppers Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday,

Royal Challengers Bangalore beat table toppers Rajasthan Royals by four wickets at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday. The game was slowly slipping from RCB’s hands after they were 87/5 in 12.3 overs, with the target of 169 looking unachievable. Dinesh Karthik stepped up yet again, and along with Shahbaz Ahmed, chased it down in some style.

Dinesh Karthik was unbeaten, scoring 44 runs from 23 deliveries that included 7 fours and a six, while Shahbaz Ahmed got 45 from 26, smashing 4 fours and 3 sixes. Ahmed was dismissed by Trent Boult at 154/6 in 17.5 overs, RCB had scored a whopping 67 runs in 5.2 overs. Royal Challengers Bangalore opened the tournament with a loss to Punjab Kings, but now have two wins on the bounce, against Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Faf du Plessis was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2022 mega auction for Rs 7 crore after he completed nearly a decade with Chennai Super Kings, winning three titles with them. He was named the captain soon after, as Virat Kohli stepped down from the captaincy at the end of last season.

Speaking on RCB’s YouTube channel, skipper Faf du Plessis was all praise for Dinesh Karthik, and compared him to former CSK captain MS Dhoni, saying that he’s on the same level as him. MS Dhoni is rated as one of the best finishers in the game, having won matches for India and CSK in improbable situations in the past. Dhoni began IPL 2022 with a fifty against KKR, but his efforts ended in vain.

“I see a lot of similarities to obviously so MS’s, who's the best finisher in the game. From what I’ve seen from DK this year, is on that same level. I’ve played against DK for a long time, and he’s always been a very dangerous player.”

Faf du Plessis further said that Dinesh Karthik is calm amidst the noise and pressure of the game, and knows exactly what to do.

“But the side of him that I’m seeing now, his composure, his clarity, that he just knows what he’s gonna do. That is a remarkable skill, not a lot of people in the world has that ability to stay calm when everything is going around you, and it’s noisy and it’s pressure, just to know this is what I’m gonna do, this is how I’m gonna do it. And it just looks in control the whole time, so at the moment he is as good as you can get from a finisher point of view.”