It was a pretty shell-shocked Dinesh Karthik who addressed the media after Delhi's defeat to Mumbai.

Karthik took the stage as the captain Gautam Gambhir had little to do with the match after his injury and given that Karthik may well be leading for a while, it was up to the wicketkeeper to try and make some sense out of the loss.

"It wasn't a very good way to start as captain," he said. "It was a good exposure, but if the opposition scores over 200 runs in a Twenty20 game, there isn't too much you can do."

Asked about Gambhir, he said: "I won't like to speculate on his injury. He will undergo an assessment tonight and then we will let you know on Thursday."

Sachin Tendulkar's initial charge took the match away, Karthik conceded. "I wish you guys could try to set the field when he plays in such form. It is absolutely impossible. He will hit you in one direction and when you change the field, he will hit you through the other."

Asked about the next game, against Chennai, Karthik said: Well, Dhoni won't play, so that's a plus. But they are a good side and we have to sit down and re-think our strategy."