Kolkata
Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Dinesh Karthik eased qualms about Australian paceman
Pat Cummins’ underwhelming debut with the ball, assuring that the most
expensive foreign recruit in Indian Premier League (IPL) history will
eventually, come good.

Bought by
KKR for a whopping Rs 15.5 crore in the player auction last December, Cummins went
wicketless in his three overs while also giving away 49 runs in his side’s
opening encounter against defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI).

Also Read: Rohit Sharma stars in Mumbai Indians’ 49-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders

However, Cummins smashed 33 runs in 12 balls to reduce KKR’s arrears.

Addressing
the media following KKR’s 49-run defeat, Karthik said, “It is very unfair to
judge him right now. He is off quarantine. He is a world champion bowler. From
whatever I have heard and seen he is one of the best going around in the world.
I trust him completely. I am sure he will come good.”

Mumbai captain
Rohit Sharma lead from the front as he scored 80 runs in 54 balls to guide his
side to a 195-run total, which they successfully defended to end their
six-match losing streak in the UAE.

Also Read: Hardik Pandya gets out in bizarre fashion vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Watch

In the 2014
edition, half of which was played in the UAE because of general elections in
India, Mumbai lost five consecutive matches in addition to their opening day loss to Chennai
Super Kings on September 19.

“It was
only two players (himself and Kieron Pollard) from the 2014 squad (that are
with Mumbai this season). It was all about how we executed our plans today, we
were in good positions and it was all about being ruthless,” Sharma said.

Sharma shared a crucial 90-run partnership with Suryakumar Yadav, who scored 47, for the second wicket to set up the winning total.

The Indian
opener also smashed six sixes in his man-of-the-match innings to take his total
sixes count to 200 in the IPL.