NEW DELHI: After a thrilling victory, involving two super overs, in the third and final T20I against Afghanistan, Indian captain Rohit Sharma lavished praise on young devastating batsman Rinku Singh.
Rinku, whose rise from a humble background to superstardom has been an inspiration for many, once again became the talk of the town after he smashed an unbeaten 69 runs off just 39 balls, including six sky-rocketing maximums in the third T20I against Afghanistan.
Rinku, who grabbed eyeballs for towering five sixes in an over against Gujarat Titans in the 2023 season, is looking as a bright prospect for this year's T20 World Cup, to be hosted by the West Indies and the United States from June 4 to June 30.
His stellar performance drew accolades from various quarters, including captain Rohit and coach Rahul Dravid.
In the match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, Rohit achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first player to score five T20I centuries, scoring an unbeaten 121 runs off 69 balls. He combined forces with Rinku in a formidable 190-run partnership for the fifth wicket, propelling India to a mammoth 212/4.
Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also lauded Rinku for his attacking batting style and termed him as a 'left-handed Dhoni'.
“He is somebody I’d call a left-handed Dhoni. I can’t compare him to Dhoni just yet because Dhoni is too big. But, I am talking about the composure that he brings. He has been consistently scoring buckets of runs for UP and broke his way into the Indian team. He was on the KKR bench for many years," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
1/10:3rd T20I: Rohit Sharma leads India record surge against Afghanistan
TNN
2/10:Rohit Sharma
<p>Rohit Sharma registered his fifth T20I hundred, including third as captain, to become the first batter to accomplish the feat in T20Is. </p>AFP
3/10:5th T20I ton
<p>Rohit Sharma went ahead of Glenn Maxwell and Suryakumar Yadav who have four T20I hundreds each to their credit. </p>PTI
4/10:121 not out
<p>Rohit Sharma's unbeaten 121 is his career-best in T20Is, bettering the 118 against Sri Lanka at Indore on December 22, 2017. </p>AFP
5/10:Most sixes as captain
<p>Rohit Sharma's 90 sixes in 54 innings are the most by a captain in T20Is, outstripping the 86 in 65 innings by Eoin Morgan. </p>TNN
6/10:Rinku Singh
<p>Rinku Singh's unbeaten 69 is his career-best in T20Is, bettering his only other fifty — 68 not out vs South Africa at St. George's Park on December 12, 2023. </p>PTI
7/10:India's highest partnership
<p>An unbroken stand of 190 runs for the fifth wicket between Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh is India's highest partnership for any wicket in T20Is. </p>TNN
8/10:World record stand
<p>The unbeaten 190-run stand is also a world record for the fifth wicket in T20Is, outstripping the 145 between Dipendra Airee and Kushal Malla for Nepal vs Hong Kong at Mulpani on October 21, 2023. </p>PTI
9/10:36 runs in an over
<p>36 runs scored by Rohit and Rinku off Karim Janat, emulated a record for most runs in an over (7-ball over: 4, 7nb, 6, 1, 6, 6, 6). </p>PTI
10/10:Yuvraj Singh
<p>Yuvraj Singh had scored 36 runs off Stuart Broad's 6-ball over at Durban on September 19, 2007 and Kieron Pollard — 36 off Akila Dananjaya's 6-ball over at Antigua on March 3, 2021. </p>Getty Images"People used to tell me that, when he was at KKR, even though he couldn’t get the chance to bat at practice, he collected all the balls that batters hit in throwdowns and gave them back to the bowler,” Ashwin said.
“Since then, he has been with the franchise for so long, put in the hard work for UP, and showed that he’s always available to get to the Indian team out of a tricky situation or finish an innings. The composure doesn’t change whether the team is batting first or chasing. His composure towards the back end of the innings is a bonus,” he added.
In three matches against Afghanistan, Rinku scored 94 runs at a strike rate of 164.91.
