NEW DELHI: Middle-order batter Rinku Singh pulled off a heist with his five sixes in the last over against Gujarat Titans on Sunday as Kolkata Knight Riders won a nail-biter against the defending champions in Ahmedabad.
Wishes poured in from all quarters as Rinku became a household name after his magical knock. Head coach Chandrakant Pandit too was in awe of his lad as he lauded Rinku's special effort.
"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)," said Pandit in a video posted by the franchise on their social media accounts on Monday.
KKR needed 29 runs in the final over against Gujarat for an unlikely win in a chase of 205. After Umesh Yadav took a single off left-arm fast-bowler Yash Dayal, carnage followed as Rinku smashed five successive sixes on the last five balls, remaining unbeaten on 48 not out and leading an improbable heist for Kolkata which will be talked for a long, long time in the cricketing world.
Pandit also hailed Umesh for his presence of mind and rotating strike on the very first ball of the last over to bring Rinku at the crease, apart from appreciating Venkatesh Iyer for smashing 83 off 40 balls and sharing a 100-run partnership off 55 balls with captain Nitish Rana.
"So, somebody has scored one run in that last over first ball (Umesh). And also we must also appreciate Nitish, Venkatesh," he added.
Kolkata's next match in IPL 2023 will be against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens on April 14.
(With inputs from IANS)
