Ahmedabad: Kolkata Knight Riders batter Rinku Singh was over the moon after his heroic knock helped the two-time champion snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against Gujarat Titans in Match 13 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Sunday.
Rinku Singh's unbeaten 48 off 21 balls included five successive sixes in the final over bowled by Yash Dayal as KKR gunned down the target of 205 in 20 overs to register their second win in a row in IPL 2023.
KKR needed 29 in the final over with three wickets in hand and Umesh Yadav facing Dayal.
He took a single and gave the strike to Rinku, who then smashed the next five balls over the ropes to trigger wild celebrations in the team camp.
'Was just trying to hit sixes'
"I had belief that I can do this. (Nitish) Rana bhai said to keep belief and to bat till the end, then we will see what happens. I was just trying to hit sixes.
"(Umesh) Bhaiya was asking me not to think much and just play the ball. I was not thinking a lot, was just reacting to the ball. It kept coming out of the middle, I had belief and it came off in the end," Rinku said after being adjudged Player of the Match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Rinku the star for KKR
Just when it seemed everything was lost for KKR after wily Afghanistan spinner and stand-in captain Rashid Khan had taken a hat-trick in the 17th over to reduce KKR to 155/7, Rinku did the Houdini Act to eke out one of the most memorable wins in the history of the Indian Premier League.
It seemed like he was waving a magic wand, which could fetch him a maximum at his beck and call.
With 28 needed off the last five balls, Rinku took the aerial route on all five deliveries to conjure up magic hardly ever seen before in an IPL game.
Shankar, Sudarshan shine for GT
Earlier, a captivating batting display from Gujarat Titans' Vijay Shankar, a fine half-century from young top-order batter Sai Sudharsan saw the defending champions put on a formidable 204/4 on the board.
Sudharsan, who had scored an unbeaten 62 against Delhi Capitals in the previous match, struck 53 off 38 balls, studded with three boundaries and two maximums, while Shankar took just 24 balls to score an unbeaten 63, embellished with four boundaries and five sixes, as the Titans made hay.
(To receive our E-paper on WhatsApp daily, please click here.  To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
