Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik recorded his 14th duck of Indian Premier League (IPL) career on April 2. Karthik now holds the record for most ducks in IPL history alongside Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Mandeep Singh and Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma.
Karthik got a promotion up the order in RCB's first clash of the season against MI at their homeground M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. Karthik walked out to bat in the 16th over after Arshad Khan broke the opening partnership between RCB skipper Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli. The 37-year-old faced two dot deliveries and then tried to take on Cameron Green but did not have enough power in the shot and ended up getting caught by Tilak Varma.
Karthik became MI’s Rs 17.5 crore recruit Green’s maiden IPL wicket. His dismissal without opening the account did not have an impact on the result as RCB chased down the 172-run target with 22 balls to spare.
Karthik entered elite list of T20 wicketkeepers with the catch of Rohit off Akash Deep's bowling. He completed 200 catches in T20 cricket and became the third wicketkeeper to do so. South Africa's Quinton de Kock has 207 catches whereas former Indian skipper MS Dhoni has 203 catches (before Chennai Super Kings’ clash against Lucknow Super Giants) in the format.
Earlier, Karthik dropped Rohit’s catch as he got involved in a nasty collision with pacer Mohammed Siraj. Rohit managed a top edge in an attempt to play a pull shot against Siraj. Karthik called for the catch but Siraj was looking at the ball. He ended up dropping the catch upon impact. Karthik was not happy with Siraj as it would have been an easy scalp. The drop did not turn out to be costly as Rohit got out after scoring just a single off 10 deliveries.
ALSO READ:
'We have seen the Virat that we saw in 2016': RCB legend makes a big claim on Kohli, predicts trouble for bowlers
'Sanju, unbelievable batting': Kumar Sangakkara lauds Rajasthan Royals captain and stylish batter; watch video here
