We flopped with both bat and ball: Karthik

Acting Delhi Daredevils captain Dinesh Karthik blamed tonight's crushing 98-run defeat against Mumbai Indian to flop show of their bowlers which he said made the task all the more difficult for their batsmen.

u00a0Mumbai set a massive target for 219 for Delhi, who could just manage 120 for nine. "We did not bowl as good as we should have been.

Chasing 200 plus is always difficult. But it is not that we were not be able to chase 200 plus. The Royal Challengers Bangalore did it a few days back. "Our batters did not bat well and could just score 120- odd. That was disappointing. Credit also should be given to Mumbai bowlers. They bowled really well. So we did not bat as well as bowl as we would like to be," Karthik said.

u00a0Karthik led the side in place of Gautam Gambhir, who suffered a hamstring injury. He left the field in the second over of the Mumbai Indian innings and is set to miss team's next match against Chennai Super Kings on Friday.

u00a0Karthik refused to give any details on his injury saying the team management will make a formal announcement tomorrow. "He is in bad condition but I don't want to speculate on his injury. I don't know the reason of his injury. The team management will announce tomorrow at a press conference how long he will be out of action," Karthik said.

When asked about their next match Karthik said, "It is good that CSK captain MS Dhoni will not be there. But we also lost a player our captain today." Karthik said it was difficult to stop Sachin Tendulkar who was in prime form, smashing a 32-ball 63 to give his side a strong foundation for the huge total. "It was difficult to set field for Tendulkar. That happened in my first match as captain. They were having 10-11 runs per over and it was difficult to set field.

"Moreover, with slow over-rate in mind. I had to keep running and tell the bowlers the strategy. It was difficult for me as I was the wicketkeeper and had to ensure that time is not lost," he said.

Asked whether Dhoni and Gambhir's injuries could be a cause of concern for India with Twenty20 World Coming up, Karthik said, "Dhoni was injured while playing. The same for Gambhir. They can not do anything. This can happen anytime to any player. I hope all the players will be all right before the T20 World Cup."

u00a0Mumbai Indians batsman Ambati Rayudu said they had done good homework for today's match. "We came prepared and we had just to stick to the basics. We had a very good pre-tournament camp and that helped. The presence of senior players like Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya really helped. "They watched us during practice and rectified our mistakes. That makes we young players confident to play in the big league. We are really fortunate to rub shoulders with them," Rayudu, who made a useful 21-ball 34, said.