IPL 2018: After Punjab defeat, Dinesh Karthik questions D/L method

Kolkata skipper Dinesh Karthik termed the Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) method strange and vouched for Indian counterpart of the rule, the VJD method, after his team lost to Punjab by nine wickets in a rain-interrupted encounter on Saturday.

Speaking to media post-match, Karthik said, "I have always thought that the VJD is an Indian method and it's an Indian domestic tournament, why not think about it in the future? It's been proven that it's a really good method, we have used in domestic tournaments."

"Only for IPL, we use D/L. Why not think about VJD here and promote it?" Karthik added. 

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Asked to bat first, Kolkata rode Chris Lynn's 41-ball 74 to post a challenging total of 191/7. 

But Punjab opener Chris Gayle and Lokesh Rahul made short work of the chase with their whirlwind knocks. The D/L method also came in their favour by reducing the target.

When play was interrupted by rain, Punjab needed 96 runs to win in 11.4 overs with ten wickets in hand and Gayle, 49, and Rahul, 46, were in full swing. 

Punjab were 96/0 in 8.2 overs when rain accompanied by a squall hit the Eden garden hard.

But after a 95-minute stoppage, the revised target was 125 in 13 overs, meaning the R Ashwin-led side needed 29 runs for victory off 28 balls.

Punjab breezed to the target with 11 balls to spare as Gayle remained unbeaten on 62 off 38 balls and Rahul had scored a 27-ball 60.

"It is interesting that at the stage rain stopped play, they needed about eight runs an over but after the D/L method, they come back and they need six runs an over, a run a ball," Karthik said.

"That was little surprising, because ideally if it would have been a 20-over game, they would have needed eight an over. If we could have got two quick wickets, the run rate would have kept going up. Suddenly after rain, they needed run-a-ball. I didn`t understand that bit but I am sure people (calculating) Duckworth-Lewis is trying to figure out what it is," he further added.

The VJD method was used in the domestic limited overs matches this season.