Rinku Singh continued his stellar run in the ongoing IPL season as he played yet another match-winning knock for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Eden Gardens 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) hit the final delivery for a boundary to seal the deal for the home team.

Rinku has played 11 matches in the IPL 2023 season so far, scoring 337 runs at a brilliant average and strike rate of 56.17 and 151.12 respectively. More than the impressive numbers, the southpaw has captured everyone’s imagination by winning KKR games from difficult situations.

"People have given me so much love this year. I loved it when I heard my name being chanted in the stands," Rinku said in a video uploaded by the IPL website on May 8.

KKR skipper Nitish Rana asked Rinku Singh whether he believed that the hosts would win the game against Punjab Kings.

In reply, the swashbuckling left-hander said he didn’t only believe that KKR would win but also knew that he would score some runs in the game.

"I had the belief since morning that we will win the match vs Punjab Kings and that I will score runs as well. The discussion with Andre Russell was that if he misses the ball, we will try to steal a run," Rinku said about the last over against PBKS.

Earlier in the IPL 2023 season, Rinku Singh snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat for KKR by smashing GT pacer Yash Dayal for five consecutive sixes.

Despite the burden of expectations after five sixes, Rinku hasn’t let the team down in pressure situations.

The left-hander said he didn’t come to the game with any plans and wanted to play the ball on its merit.

"I did not have any pre-plans. I wanted to counter based on the ball I was facing, like when I had hit 5 sixes."

Asked about the pressure of batting in the final over, Rinku said: "There is always a little bit of pressure, and that is natural. I expect that."