Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Faf du Plessis was in awe of Dinesh Karthik after the latter scored an unbeaten 23-ball 44 to help his side beat Rajasthan Royals by four wickets in Match 13 of IPL 2022. The South African said Karthik is as great a character as one can ever get in their squad.

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Faf du Plessis heaped praise on Dinesh Karthik after his side beat Rajasthan Royals (RR) by four wickets in Match 13 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Chasing a challenging total of 170, Karthik played a match-winning knock of an unbeaten 23-ball 44, laced with seven fours and one six, to take his side past the finishing line with five balls to spare.

Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, du Plessis lauded Karthik’s calm nature in the middle as he walked in when they were reduced to 87/5. From there on, he and Shahbaz Ahmed (45 off 26 balls) forged a 67-run stand for the sixth wicket to steady the ship before Harshal Patel smashed the winning six in the final over.

“To pull it out of nowhere, you need some great characters and DK is as great a character as you can get. His composure under pressure is amazing. He is really calm and such a great asset to us,” du Plessis said at the post-match presentation.

Karthik was fittingly awarded the Player of the Match award for his valiant efforts with the bat. When asked about his performance, he said, “I think I made a conscious effort this year to do justice to myself because the last year, I felt I could have done better. The way I trained was much better this time around. Credit to the person who trained with me. I’m making a conscious effort to tell myself that I’m not done yet.”

RCB will next take on Mumbai Indians (MI) on Saturday (April 9) at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune.