TATA IPL 2024: 'Proud of this journey we are having', says RCB's Dinesh Karthik
Following a remarkable turnaround in the IPL 2024, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) clinching the final playoff berth despite a challenging start, wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik expressed his thoughts on the team's inspirational journey under the leadership of Faf du Plessis. Karthik emphasized that the resilience shown by RCB will be etched in the memories of fans for years to come. Despite languishing at the bottom of the table initially, RCB staged an impressive comeback by securing victories in their last six matches, culminating in a league stage finish within the top four, with 14 points to their credit.
Speaking in the RCB dressing room after the win, Karthik said the players should be proud of them for putting up a competitive show in the latter stage of the cash-rich league. "We should be really proud of this journey we are having. People will always remember certain journeys. The way we have come back after eight games, we needed to win six, people will remember this team", Karthik told the RCB dressing room.
"Every year in this tournament, when you hit the seven-game mark, there will be one or two teams which would have probably won one or two and they will look to us and say, ‘RCB did it. That was special. We are going to try and repeat what RCB did.’ And that is what we all play cricket for, a sport for which people follow us and believe us that they can do something special. It is hard. It is not going to be easy, I can tell any team that. What we have achieved today is very, very special. We should be really proud of ourselves, winning six out of six", he added.
Heading onto the Eliminator in Ahmedabad, Karthik feels RCB has allowed themselves to achieve something so extraordinary that their feats will remain on people’s minds for years. "When we get on that flight to Ahmedabad, we have a job to do. We have it within our grasp to do something that people will remember us for many decades. It will be a journey where people will say, ‘Wow, that RCB team was special.’ We are on that journey. We can do something really special if we put our minds to it. Nothing different. Just the same thing, over and over and over again. We will be the team that other teams look at", he said.
RCB's journey to the playoffs was particularly noteworthy due to their victory against the defending champions, Chennai, intensifying their long-standing rivalry. The challenge was further amplified by a rain interruption disrupting RCB's batting momentum. Upon resumption, they had to adapt to the altered conditions, facing the additional difficulty of contending with a turning ball.
Hailing RCB as the best fielding unit, Karthik praised the catching heroics of Faf du Plessis and Swapnil Singh. "We can proudly say we are the best fielding team in this tournament without a doubt. That catch, Faf, was special. Swapnil’s catch as well, when it mattered the most, that was serious". Karthik also remarked that while another team might have been content with a total of 150 given the altered conditions post-rain, RCB surpassed expectations, overcoming the challenges and delivering an impressive performance for their devoted 12th Man Army.
"What makes today really special according to me is that a lot of things went against what you would have ideally wanted. For a start, Faf, with the toss. But then we showed why we are so special as a team in this journey. Even though it turned, we had a rain break, we had to go, start again, just the way Virat and Faf played the next three overs made it feel like 140-150 could be a decent total. Most teams would have thought about that and we would have thought about that for a second as well", he added.
