Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Rinku Singh was at his best on Sunday as he hit five sixes in the last five balls to help his side take a historic three-wicket victory over defending champions Gujarat Titans in an IPL 2023 match. KKR needed 29 runs in the final and hardly anyone thought that the side would win the game. Umesh Yadav singled off the first ball to give the strike to Rinku, who hit five sixes off the last five balls to take his side home.
The win certainly made Rinku a hero, but GT pacer Yash Dayal, who was on the receiving end of his carnage in the last over, was visibly shaken.
During a recent interview, Rinku, who shared the Uttar Pradesh dressing room with Yash Dayal in domestic cricket, revealed how he consoled the southpaw.
“I texted Yash after the game and said it happens in cricket, you did really well last year, I was just trying to motivate him a bit,” Rinku Singh said in an interview with India Today.
Earlier, the KKR franchise had also taken time after the game to comfort Dayal with a sweet message.
“Chin up lad. Just a tough day at the office, happens to the best players in cricket. You are a champion, Yash, and you will come back strong,” KKR said in a tweet.
Cheer up, boy. Just a tough day at the office happens to the best players in cricket. You are a champion, Yash, and you will come back strong@gujarat_titans pic.twitter.com/M0aOQEtlsx
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 9, 2023
The first three pitches Rinku faced in the last over were all full tosses and the batter made no mistake sending them for sixes.
Needing 10 runs off 2 balls, Dayal bowled a slower length ball, but Rinku also hit it over the fence. The last ball of the game was another slower ball and Rinku long missed it with nerves of steel to seal the game for KKR.
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