'He has the upper hand' - RP Singh explains why Dinesh Karthik is a better finisher than Liam Livingstone

Dinesh Karthik and Liam Livingstone have been two of the star performers for their respective sides Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings in the ongoing IPL 2022. While Karthik has been their savior in the middle-order, having remained unbeaten in eight out of 13 matches, Livingstone has been making a tremendous impact with his all-round abilities.

Comparing the two consistent performers, former left-arm pacer Rudra Pratap Singh has said that it is Dinesh Karthik who is better than Liam Livingstone. Giving his reasons for the same, he said that the Karthik has the upper hand over the Englishman as he has played a lot of match-winning knocks for his side.

Give Dinesh Karthik less time to think, he’ll do really well: RP Singh

“Dinesh Karthik was my batchmate in the U-19 World Cup. He used to get run-out then as well, there’s no change in that! (chuckles) Whenever he thinks too much, he makes mistakes. That’s the kind of character he is. Give him less time to think, he’ll do really well. When he knows he has to play 10 off the 20 deliveries left, he brings out his best performance,” RP Singh was quoted as saying by India Today.

“You know how a cocky guys does it? He thinks he has to do it and will hit whenever the ball is on his radar. You’ll know it from his body language. He’s the best player for this number of remaining deliveries. And if you compare him with Liam Livingstone, I believe he has the upper hand because he has played a lot of knocks and won his team matches,” he added.

As far as their current form is concerned, Karthik has amassed 285 runs from 13 matches at a strike rate of 192 whereas Liam Livingstone has scored 385 runs from 12 outings. The Englishman scored a blistering 70 off 42, which eventually turned out to be a match-winning knock in the last game against RCB where PBKS ended up posting a mammoth 209/9. Chasing the target, the RCB batters succumbed under pressure and even Karthik could not do anything exceptional as he could only manage a run-a-ball 11 as the team was restricted to 155/9, suffering a huge 54-run defeat.