Rinku Singh was in hot form as Kolkata Knight Riders sealed a narrow three-wicket victory vs Gujarat Titans in Match 13 of IPL 2023, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Chasing a target of 205 runs, KKR reached 207/7 in 20 overs with Rinku Singh smacking an unbeaten knock of 48 runs off 21 balls, packed with a four and six sixes. Meanwhile, Venkatesh Iyer hammered 83 runs off 40 balls. For GT's bowling department, Rashid Khan was in good form and scalped three wickets. Meanwhile, Alzarri Joseph bagged two dismissals.
Initially, an unbeaten knock of 63 runs off 24 balls by Vijay Shankar helped GT post 204/4 in 20 overs. Meanwhile, Sunil Narine bagged three wickets for KKR.
The spotlight was on Rinku during KKR's chase in the final over, and the 25-year-old smacked five consecutive sixes in the final over to win the game for his side. Receiving a full toss in the second delivery of the final over from Umesh Yadav, Rinku launched it over extra cover for a six, followed by smacking him over backward square for another.
In the fourth delivery, Rinku received another full toss and clattered it over the long-off boundary for a six, followed by a six over long-on, to reduce the deficit to four off one delivery. In the final delivery, the batter clobbered Umesh down the ground for the match-winning six.
{{/usCountry}}In the fourth delivery, Rinku received another full toss and clattered it over the long-off boundary for a six, followed by a six over long-on, to reduce the deficit to four off one delivery. In the final delivery, the batter clobbered Umesh down the ground for the match-winning six.
{{/usCountry}}After Rinku's heroics, fans were sent into a state of meltdown, with many comparing him to MS Dhoni. So it wasn't a surprise when Dhoni failed to lead CSK to victory in the final over vs RR recently, that fans began to hail Rinku. They also compared him to Rahul Tewatia, who had an impact in GT's final over victory vs PBKS. Here are the reactions:
After his heroics, Rinku said, "Had the belief that I can do it. Last year I was in a similar situation in Lucknow. Had the belief back then too. Didn't think too much out there. Those shots just happened one after the other. That last one was back of the hand, and I struck it off the back foot."