"You've given cricket fans countless unforgettable moments" - Fans hail Dinesh Karthik as he bids farewell to IPL with RCB's loss to RR in Eliminator

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik bid farewell to the IPL after his side suffered a heartbreaking four-wicket defeat to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Eliminator on May 22. The 38-year-old had announced that he would retire from the IPL at the end of the 2024 season.

Karthik's final game did not go to plan as he scored only 11 off 13 in RCB's total of 172/8 in 20 overs. However, the veteran gloveman enjoyed a memorable IPL 2024 campaign, scoring 326 runs in 15 games at an average of 36.32 and a strike rate of 187.35.

Karthik has been part of the IPL since its inception in 2008 and won his lone title with the Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2013. The champion cricketer finished his IPL career with 4,842 runs at an average of over 26 and a strike rate of 135.36 in a staggering 257 matches.

Fans on Twitter hailed Dinesh Karthik for his outstanding IPL career with the below reactions:

Dinesh Karthik receives guard of honor from RCB teammates

With RCB's season coming to a painful end with the loss to RR in the Eliminator, Dinesh Karthik received a guard of honor from his teammates. The veteran wicket-keeper shared an extensive embrace with Virat Kohli and the other RCB players after RR completed their run-chase of 173.

Coming to the game, RCB were asked to bat by RR skipper Sanju Samson on a slightly tacky Ahmedabad wicket. Despite a solid start of 37/0 in the fifth over, the RCB batters failed to capitalize and finished with a below-par total of 172.

Despite a spirited bowling performance, crucial dropped catches and misfields paved the way for RR to win with an over to spare. The defeat means RCB's wait for an elusive IPL title continues as they fell short for the 17th season in a row.

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Venkatesh has been writing cricket news, listicle and feature articles for Sportskeeda for over a year. He loves cricket because of the diversity of the playing fields and its unparalleled nuances, which no other sport presents. He also enjoys the analytical and quantitative side of the sport, which originates from his MBA degree and 10 years of experience in the IT industry in companies like Infosys, Atos and TCS.

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He started watching cricket in the late 1990s, having been impressed with South Africa and New Zealand’s gentleman-like attitude. Domestically, he supports the Chennai Super Kings for their ability to bring the best out of their players owing to a friendly and conducive team environment.

He admires three cricketers the most – Brian Lara for his batting style, AB de Villiers for changing the paradigm of batting and MS Dhoni for his unique cerebral approach to field placings and batting. Along with cricket, Venkatesh also enjoys watching and playing tennis and basketball. In his free time, he finds pleasure in singing and watching movies and web series.

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