Kolkata Knight Riders’ all-rounder Rinku Singh slammed five sixes in the final five balls as his side completed a sensational three-wicket victory over defending champions Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League 2023 on Sunday. With 29 runs needed in the final over, Umesh Yadav took a single to give Rinku the strike. What followed what an unbelievable show from the batting southpaw as he slammed five sixes in the remaining five balls to take his side home in the last-ball thriller.
While the first couple of sixes from Rinku seemed consolatory, he carried on the attack to make his teammates believe that there was an outside change. Before GT and the spectators could believe what was happening on the ground, Rinku had pulled off a nearly impossible victory.
The win definitely made Rinku a hero, but left-arm GT pacer Yash Dayal, who was at the receiving end of his carnage in the final over was visibly gutted.
While KKR were in awe of Rinku’s hitting, they did take their time out after the game to console Dayal with a sweet message.
“Chin up, lad. Just a hard day at the office, happens to the best of players in cricket. You’re a champion, Yash, and you’re gonna come back strong,” said KKR in a tweet.
Chin up, lad. Just a hard day at the office, happens to the best of players in cricket. You’re a champion, Yash, and you’re gonna come back strong @gujarat_titans pic.twitter.com/M0aOQEtlsx
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 9, 2023
The first three deliveries that Rinku faced in the last over were all full-tosses and the batter made no mistake in dispatching them to various corners of the ground.
With 10 runs to go, Dayal bowled a slower length ball, but it was met with a similar fate. The final ball of the match was once again a back of the length slower ball and Rinku knew it right away after making contact as the ball sailed into the crowd.
(With PTI Inputs)
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