Rinku Singh continued his brilliance in the ongoing IPL season as he played yet another match-winning knock for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Monday (May 8).
Chasing 180 to win, KKR needed six runs in the final over and Arshdeep Singh did a brilliant job to take the game to the last ball. The left-arm pacer conceded only four runs in five balls but Rinku (21* off 10 balls) smashed the final delivery for a boundary to seal the deal for the home team.
After the game, KKR all-rounder Andre Russell, who slammed 42 off 23 balls in the run-chase, heaped praise on Rinku Singh, stating that he doesn’t have to be worried when the latter is in the middle with him.
“When you have Rinku at the other end, I'm not worried whether I take a single or.... He said, 'Russ, what if the ball beat you, should we go for it?' I said, 'Yes, sure!' because I have confidence in him and the angle coming into him as well is a little easier because the ball was tailing away from me. [Arshdeep] was nailing his yorkers wide... So I'm happy,” Russell said at the post-match presentation after winning the Player-of-the-Match award.
Earlier in the IPL 2023 season, Rinku Singh took KKR over the finishing line against Gujarat Titans by smashing Yash Dayal for five consecutive sixes.
Further lauding Rinku, Russell said that he gets goosebumps by seeing the southpaw’s exploits in IPL 16.
“I get goosebumps seeing him doing what he's doing now and I have company in the back end of this franchise. It's not just me and pressure on me. If I get a single, I know what he can do. He's been here for years and he's worked his way to where he is right now and he still has so much more to give. Very disciplined guy, hard-working and he's the funniest guy in the team. So you can't have a dull moment around Rinku. I always try to be close to him in the changing room. He tries to be tough but we are good friends," he added.
With this victory, Kolkata Knight Riders moved to the fifth spot in the 10-team standings with 10 points from 11 matches. They will next face Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens on May 11.
