Rinku Singh’s power-hitting delivered Kolkata Knight Riders an incredible three-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans on Sunday in Ahmedabad, making it one of the best finishes to a T20 run chase. (April 9). At the Narendra Modi Stadium, Rinku sealed an incredible victory by hitting Yash Dayal for five sixes off the final five deliveries of the game with 29 needed off the final over. You need to know nothing more than that Rashid Khan’s hat trick was reduced to a circus and resulted in a losing cause.
In the penultimate over, the magic began to work
With 12 deliveries remaining, KKR needed 43, and with the game all but over, it was down to 39 off 8 balls. But Rinku wasn’t going to give up. 29 needed off the final over after Joshua Little’s final two deliveries, which included a six and a four. It seemed unlikely even when going up against a youngster like Yash Dayal. Umesh Yadav returned the first ball for a strike, and that was all. At that point, Rinku took an outrageous action. Even though Dayal offered up to three complete tosses in those frantic final five balls of bowling, the striking under pressure from Rinku was incredible.
A chaotic game right off of the gate
The Titans were startled when usual captain Hardik Pandya was ruled out owing to illness even before the first ball was bowled. Rashid Khan, his deputy, got things going by winning the toss, and GT got things going quickly as well. After Wriddhiman Saha’s departure, Shubman Gill continued the momentum he had started with three well-placed shots. Although the latter failed to capitalize on his start, their combination with Sai Sudharsan got the innings going. The left-hander produced a respectable 53 off 38 to lead the innings, and he appeared confident as he did it.
KKR spinners are put under pressure
The spin twins are without a doubt the Knight Riders’ important players from the middle overs of the powerplay to the final overs. Despite the fact that Sunil Narine had three timely strikes in the previous game, Varun Chakravarthy and they both received the short end of the stick this time. When playing against spinners, Gill and Sai Sudharsan made excellent use of both their feet and the depth of the crease.
Unusual play by GT to end the inning
Even though the GT top order put on a solid performance, they had not really taken control of the game as they were only at 159/2 after 18 overs. KKR would have liked to keep the hosts to a score of 185 or close to it. But Vijay Shankar had other plans. As 45 runs came off the final 12 balls to help the Titans pass the 200-run threshold, he destroyed Lockie Ferguson and Shardul Thakur to all corners. It was a conclusion that was, to put it mildly, spectacular. We had no idea at the time that there would be a bigger one in the chase.
KKR suffered a setback early in the pursuit
The pressure of the large chase was evident in Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Narayan Jagadeesan’s dismissals as they fell early (both players were making their KKR debuts). While the former was eliminated by a quick short ball, his teammate was eliminated more gently as GT maintained their position in the powerplay.
Iyer and Rana inspire a return
The veteran members of the team were crucial for KKR, and they more than delivered, especially Venkatesh Iyer, who made 83 off 40 after a string of subpar runs. The game was opened up by the left-handed pair of Iyer and Rana (45 off 29), whose calculated ball-striking was the standout of their stand. They accumulated 100 runs in just 55 deliveries. Iyer continued to attack with all of his might even though the KKR captain got off to a very loose shot (caught in the ring off Alzarri Joseph). The left-hander found his finest form in a while as there were some very crispy lofts and pick-up strokes.
Rashid Khan, the hat-trick-performing magician
The Afghanistan leggie typically enjoys bowling when the game is on the line and the most dangerous hitter from the opposition is in. He had refrained from entering this contest. In addition to giving Russell the first ball, he then dismissed Sunil Narine and Shardul Thakur to record the first hat-trick of the year. At the moment, it appeared to be a game-ending strike.
The Rinku Singh craze occurs
It was clear that Rinku was a fighter because he had successfully pulled his team out of seemingly hopeless situations in the past, most notably against LSG last year. He never quit trying. Of course, he also required some luck, but even with that, he still had to put in some effort. The ball striker was fearless because he maintained his shape and knew just where to place the ball. It only happens once every million blue moons that 29 off 5 occurs.
In the end, his 31-ball 48* ended Titan’s season-long winning streak and gave the Knight Riders a victory that boosted their spirits.
