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Cricket Players'Reporters asked me, 'why Rinku doesn't...'': Nitish Rana's emotional reaction to KKR star's five-six miracle vs GT
Rinku Singh stunned Gujarat Titans as he smashed five successive sixes during the final over, steering the KKR to a famous win in Ahmedabad.
The Kolkata Knight Riders registered a staggering victory over Gujarat Titans in the 2023 Indian Premier League on Saturday evening. Rinku Singh went ballistic over GT pacer Yash Dayal, smashing him for five successive sixes when the side needed 28 runs to win off the final five deliveries of the game. Interestingly, Rinku was batting at 9 off 14 deliveries during the 19th over; his power-hitting began during the fifth ball of the penultimate over against Josh Little.
This isn't the first time when Rinku Singh has delivered for the Knight Riders in a crunch situation. In the IPL 2022 game against Lucknow Super Giants, Rinku scored 40 off just 15 deliveries in a 211-run chase; however, he was dismissed on the second-last ball of the final over, with the Knight Riders eventually losing by merely 2 runs.
This time, however, even in an even tougher situation than the one last year, Rinku held his nerve as he smashed Yash Dayal all around the ground during his five successive sixes. Nitish Rana, who is leading the Knight Riders in absence of Shreyas Iyer this year, was all praise for the young batter as he made a rather emotional remark.
Rana insisted that the innings such as Rinku's against the Titans take place once in every 100 times, further saying that he simply doesn't have enough words to describe Rinku's knock.
“We had belief because Rinku had done something similar last year, although we did not win. After the second six, we started to believe more because Yash Dayal was also not executing well. You win one out of a hundred matches this way. We were bowling well for 18 overs but did not bowl well towards the end. Same in the batting department where we allowed Rashid and GT back into the game. This result, though, is only down to Rinku and his brilliance,” Nitish said in the post-match presentation.
“Reporters had asked me the other day, why Rinku does not play a bigger role. If this is his secondary role, then imagine what he can do in a primary role. I do not have words to describe Rinku's innings,” the KKR skipper added.
The Knight Riders will return to action on April 14 when they host Sunrisers Hyderabad.
