Veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik on Saturday said the 300-mark will be crossed sooner or later in the IPL, highlighting the evolving standard of batting in the league over the past 17 years. Sunrisers Hyderabad's total of 287/3 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru is currently the highest total in the IPL, while the total of 300 has been achieved only once in the history of the shortest format. Nepal made 314 for three against Mongolia during the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year.
“I think the ceiling is constantly being reworked and they are raising it much higher,” Karthik said ahead of RCB's match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Sunday.
“The number of 250 in the first 32 matches of the tournament is the highest ever in the history of any tournament played in this format around the world.
“It tells you that people are a lot more fearless, people are pushing their limits a lot more. I wouldn't be surprised if the 300 mark is crossed very, very soon or in this year (of the IPL) itself,” he added.
Karthik said the obvious reason was the impact player rule that has strengthened teams' batting.
“You hit a lot deeper, which puts a lot more pressure on the bowlers. The freedom to keep hitting has freed up a lot of young boys and they're all playing phenomenal strokes.
“If you look at the standard of batting over the last 17 years that this tournament has existed, it's unreal how much it has grown,” the cricketer-turned-commentator added.
After winning just one of the seven matches, RCB's play-off hopes have diminished as they need to win all their remaining matches to have a chance of finishing in the top four.
Karthik, however, said that if their batters find form, “sky is the limit” for them.
“The belief is definitely there. If there is no belief, there is no point in playing a tournament like IPL. Every year there will be a few teams at this stage trying to find their feet and there have been so many cases in which they picked up and won matches.
“We believe that if we can do something special, we can gain that momentum and use that for our self-confidence.
“You need a lot of characters and players who are consistently doing well and players who aren't doing well yet to find form. And if you get a few players going, the sky is the limit for you,” he added.
RCB's string of defeats has not dented their confidence and Karthik said they remain a close unit.
“The team is very closely connected as a unit. I think Andy Flower and Faf Du Plessis tried very hard to do that.
“The best thing about it is that Virat is such a good leader that he does everything he can to push the team forward and keep it in a good mood, whether it's laughing and joking or talking to players and to try to boost their mood a little.
“We're doing our best, it's something we can definitely see and I think all our fans watching are aware that we're doing everything we can. That's the sport, not everything always gets in your way,” he said. .
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