Ahmedabad — Rinku Singh hit five sixes off the last five deliveries as Kolkata Knight Riders chased down a mammoth target of 205 to beat the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League on Sunday.
The Titans, reigning IPL champions, looked to have wrapped up victory after Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan claimed a hat-trick to leave Kolkata reeling at 155-7 in the 17th over.
𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗞𝗨 𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗛! 🔥 🔥
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 9, 2023
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗔𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸! ⚡️ ⚡️
Take A Bow! 🙌 🙌
28 needed off 5 balls & he has taken @KKRiders home & how! 💪 💪
Those reactions say it ALL! ☺️ 🤗
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/G8bESXjTyh #TATAIPL | #GTvKKR | @rinkusingh235 pic.twitter.com/Kdq660FdER
With Kolkata needing 29 runs off the final over, Yash Dayal was handed the ball and after Umesh Yadav took a single off the first delivery, Rinku cut loose.
The 25-year-old capitalised on three full tosses to clear the ropes before smashing the final two balls from outside off stump over the long-on boundary as Kolkata won by three wickets.
"I was just trying to hit sixes. I was not thinking a lot, was just reacting to the ball," said Rinku, who was named player of the match.
Careful... he's a superhero! pic.twitter.com/QTYhoblvGb
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 9, 2023
"It kept coming out of the middle, I had belief and it came off in the end."
Rinku set a record for most runs by any batter in the 20th over of an IPL run-chase.
"Rinku played unbelievable shots and credit goes to him for the way he played and for the way he finished," Titans captain Rashid said.
Reuters