"Dinesh Karthik started feeling unwell, he was a bit dehydrated and on his way back he also vomited" - Sanjay Bangar
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) head coach Sanjay Bangar shed light on Dinesh Karthik's fitness following the team's six-wicket loss to the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, May 9.
The veteran wicketkeeper-batter was seen retching multiple times while making his way to the pavilion after his dismissal in the penultimate over of the first innings. Karthik did not feature in the second innings, with Anuj Rawat donning the gloves behind the wickets.
Stating that Karthik was potentially dehydrated and should be fit in time for RCB's next game, Bangar said during the post-match press conference:
"During the course of the innings, Dinesh Karthik started feeling unwell, he was a bit dehydrated and on his way back he also vomited. There is enough gap for us, maybe three-four days, so with medicine, I think he should be fine. He is an important member for us and he has a big role to play."
Karthik scored 30 runs off 18 deliveries, which helped RCB post 199-6 in the first innings. He has 140 runs in 11 innings in IPL 2023 at a strike rate of 138.61.
The 200-run target posted by RCB on the back of Faf du Plessis (65 off 41) and Glenn Maxwell's (68 off 33) knocks proved to be not enough.
Admitting that their young Indian batters like Anuj Rawat are not progressing at an optimum rate, Bangar said:
"Our young Indian batters are not progressing at a very good rate. Lomror has been someone who has taken his chances well. But somebody like Anuj Rawat or Shahbaz Ahmed, whenever they have got those opportunities, unfortunately, they have not been able to capitalize on it."
Bangar continued:
You have to be patient with younger players and you can perhaps try to relate it to the example of Rinku Singh."
Mahipal Lomror, who scored a fifty against Delhi Capitals (DC) was dismissed for just one run against MI. Anuj Rawat scored six runs while coming in at No.3 before getting out while trying to play an unorthodox shot inside the powerplay.
"Around the 12th over phase, we just felt like we were never in the game" - Sanjay Bangar
RCB had no say in the proceedings in the second innings right from the word go as MI made a mockery of the target. The Rohit Sharma-led side chased down a target of 200 or higher for the third time this season to climb to the third place in the points table.
Wanindu Hasaranga helped RCB's case with two wickets in the fifth over, but an imperious partnership between Suryakumar Yadav (83 off 35) and Nehal Wadhera (52* off 34) took the game away from the visitors.
Opining that RCB did not compete after succumbing to defeat in the 17th over itself, Bangar said:
"We did not compete, I mean winning and losing is part of the game, but had the game gone down the wire till the 20th over it would have been acceptable."
Bangar continued:
"But around the 12th over phase we just felt like we were never in the game and that is not that we are proud of as a team. I am sure that the team is disappointed and we will come back stronger from this defeat."
RCB are stuttering in their away leg with two consecutive defeats. They are next scheduled to face the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur on Sunday, May 14.