Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Chandrakant Pandit praised Rinku Singh for his five sixes in the last five balls that led the team to a thrilling three-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans in an IPL 2023 match at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. The last over started with KKR needing 29 runs for an unlikely win against Gujarat in a chase of 205. After Umesh Yadav took a single off left-arm fast-bowler Yash Dayal, Rinku smashed five successive sixes on the last five balls, remaining unbeaten on 48 not out and leading an improbable heist for Kolkata.
Pandit compared Rinku’s performance to Ravi Shastri’s six sixes in the Ranji Trophy and Javed Miandad’s last ball six in Dubai, saying, “In 43 years of my cricket career, being a coach, playing cricket, first-class cricket and international, I’ve previously seen two innings. One is Ravi Shastri scoring six sixes in the Ranji Trophy, and second was the last ball six from Javed Miandad in Dubai. And after that, I’m seeing you (Rinku’s five sixes).”
Pandit also praised Umesh Yadav for his presence of mind and rotating strike on the very first ball of the last over to bring Rinku at the crease. He also appreciated Venkatesh Iyer for smashing 83 off 40 balls and sharing a 100-run partnership off 55 balls with captain Nitish Rana.
Kolkata’s next match in IPL 2023 will be against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens on April 14.
