Kolkata Knight Riders did not get off to a good start to their 2020 Indian Premier League campaign on Wednesday. The two-time champions lost their first game of the season by 49 runs to the defending champions Mumbai Indians at Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Stadium. Bowlers were taken to the dry cleaners by Rohit Sharma and Co. with record signing Pat Cummins as the most expensive bowler.
The Australian pacemaker was signed by KKR in the 2019 IPL auctions for a gigantic fee of Rs 15.5 crore. But his first game for KKR didn’t turn out very well as he ended up conceding 49 runs in four overs. It has received a lot of criticism due to the high price and its moderate debut for the Kolkata-based team.
But the KKR captain, Dinesh Karthik, has come out to defend him. Karthik has backed Pat Cummins, who failed to impress with the ball against the Mumbai Indians, saying the pacemaker is a “world champion” and that he will return. Karthik also revealed that Cummins received permission to play hours before the match started and said judging the player after the first game’s performance would be “unfair.”
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“It is very unfair to judge him right now, he just came out of quarantine and got permission at 3:34 to play the game. We are happy to have him and I don’t think this is the game we should judge him on at all. He is a world bowling champion. I trust him completely and I am sure that he will make a good comeback, ”Karthik said at the post-match press conference.
Australian running back Cummins gave away 49 runs from just three overs in the game as the Mumbai Indians hit a 196-run goal for the Karthik-led team.
The Mumbai Indians then easily defended the goal, securing a 49-run victory in the match. Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma was in his devastating prime when he played an 80-run hit with just 54 balls.
Reflecting on the batting order that KKR will follow in the upcoming matches, Karthik said: “It all depends on the game and the score that we are chasing and what we are doing at any moment.
(with ANI inputs)
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