My job to lead from front, says Dinesh Karthik after another KKR loss

Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Dinesh Karthik feels that questions are bound to be raised against his captaincy after the team suffered its sixth defeat in row in the IPL but "his job is to lead from the front".

The World Cup-bound Karthik regained his batting form with an unbeaten 97 off 50 balls, helping KKR recover from 49 for 3 to a challenging 176 against Rajasthan Royals here on Thursday night.

However, the hosts failed to defend the total with teenager Riyan Parag (47) and Jofra Archer (27 not out) scripting a stunning three-wicket win.

"It's my job to lead from the front. But sometimes the results don't go your way. So it's obviously always a tough thing to mend. But the fact is that we try hard as a team and I have belief in my boys that we'll come stronger," he said.

With another loss, KKR's hopes of making the play-offs are all but over.

"It is very difficult. I am not going to sit here and say 'it's okay and stuff'... It's very disappointing. We tried hard but we were just not able to cross the line."
"Obviously when the results don't go your way these questions will be asked, and I understand that. But as a team, we're trying to do a lot of things right."
"There're no things that we're not attending to. We're trying to make the right changes, build the right combination and trying to come in every game believing that we can win. We're trying to keep everybody in good space and making sure the dressing room is good and they all trust in the leader."