Dinesh Karthik close to being as ice cool as MS Dhoni, says Faf du Plessis

Mumbai : Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Faf du Plessis hailed Dinesh Karthik’s calm presence with the bat, saying that the wicketkeeper-batter is close to legendary MS Dhoni in terms of ice cool temperament.

In Bangalore’s successful chase of 128 against Kolkata at the DY Patil Stadium, Karthik was held back till he came at number seven and finished off the chase with an unbeaten 14 off just seven balls.

“In an ideal world, we would’ve liked to have won more convincingly but a win is a win. DK’s experience helped in the end, cool-calm, runs weren’t never really too far away. DK is as close as it gets to MS Dhoni when it comes to being ice cool,” said Du Plessis after the match.

The thrilling three-wicket win was also Bangalore’s first victory of the competition. “Very happy (with the win). Close small margins game are very important at the start. Chasing a small score, we just tried to be positive and not leave it late but very good bowling from their (Kolkata) seamers,” observed Du Plessis.

Talking about the difference in conditions from the match on Sunday and now on Wednesday, Du Plessis remarked, “The ball swung a little more earlier but today there was seam and bounce. Two three days ago, it was 200 and today it was 130. We would like to be more convincing. Just the experience. The runs were never a problem. We just needed to have wickets in hand.”

Du Plessis signed off by saying that he gets help from other players in the team for making strategies. “I rely on other people for help. We have great people in the camp. There is good communication in the group. The guys have been great. They have been supportive. They are coming to me with ideas.