"I was not thinking...."- Rinku Singh after his epic 5 sixes vs GT in Ahmedabad
Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans produced one of the best games ever played in the Indian Premier League's history on Sunday afternoon, when both teams crossed the 200-run mark and the fans got full value for their money.
In the end, it was Rinku Singh who did something special to script his name in history by smashing five consecutive sixes off the last five balls of the game to register an unbelievable victory for KKR against the defending champion at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
The result came in favour of the two time champion, but it wasn't that easy as they were far behind the game until Rinku's heroics. Needing 28 runs off the last five balls, the left-hander smashed Yash Dayal for five consecutive sixes to seal the deal for KKR.
After the win, Rinku revealed the chat he had with KKR stand-in skipper Nitish Rana, who told him to take the chase until the very end. The left-hander said, "I had belief that I can do this. Rana bhai said to keep belief and to bat till the end, then we will see what happens. I was not thinking a lot. It kept coming out of the middle, I had belief and it came off in the end"
"Because he's the Knight #KKR deserves and the one they need right now" - Rinku Singh 😎#GTvKKR #TATAIPL #IPLonJioCinema | @KKRiders pic.twitter.com/b1QrN3fLjX
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) April 9, 2023
Notably, in a similar situation last season, Rinku wasn't able to complete the duty when KKR needed 21 runs off the last over against the Lucknow Super Giants. He said that he was just looking to hit sixes in the final over. Rinku was adjudged "Man of the Match' for his epic inning. He remained unbeaten on 48 of 21, with six sixes and one four.
GT made 204/4 in their first inning with the help of Sai Sudharsan (53 off 38) and Vijay Shankar (63* off 24). For KKR, Nitish Rana (45 off 29) and Venkatesh Iyer (83 off 40) played good innings. This win gave Kolkata two much-needed points on the board.