Gujarat Titans stand-in skipper Rashid Khan lauded Rinku Singh after the left-hander took Kolkata Knight Riders to an emphatic three-wicket win at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday. 29 runs were needed off the final over for KKR to pull off the impossible and Rinku Singh smashed five consecutive sixes against Yash Dayal to get his team over the line in a dramatic finish.
In fact, KKR needed 39 runs off the last eight deliveries and it looked like the match was done and dusted. Rinku took a four and six on the last two balls of the penultimate over, bowled by Joshua Little.
Umesh Yadav took a crucial single on the first ball against Dayal and then Rinku pulled one of the greatest finishes, which a T20 game has ever witnessed.
In fact, the southpaw was 8(14) at one stage but turned the match on its head in the final over. The left-hander from Aligarh finished with 48 from only 21 balls to give two crucial points to KKR.
Rashid Khan said in the post-match presentation, “It’s a tough game for us, especially for me as a captain. You need 30 plus in the last over, the same thing happened for us last year when we won. We will learn from it, more importantly a good game of cricket and the fans would have loved it. It was more about what he is most comfortable with, to trust his plans [on Yash Dayal’s plans]. Rinku played unbelievable shots and credit goes to him for the way he played and for the way he finished. Keep it simple, hit the right area consistently and that’s what T20 is all about.”
He added, “As a bowler, I’m always trying to hit the right area. We got what we wanted. We wanted 190 and we got 200. As a bowling unit we got enough to defend, but sometimes in T20 even 250 does not look good. Take positives from this, it’s still early in the competition and learn from it. Definitely not [on if this defeat will hurt morale]. Chin up and keep smiling and we come back stronger and stronger. It’s good and something new is happening in T20, it makes you mature and I feel it’s very good for the game of cricket [on the new rules]. For my future it’s great, leading the team in IPL gives you lots of knowledge for the future. Good learning for me as a player and as a captain.”
Meanwhile, Rashid Khan took the first hat trick of the season as he accounted for Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Shardul Thakur but his effort went in vain.
Gujarat Titans will next face Punjab Kings at the IS Bindra Cricket Stadium, Mohali on Thursday.
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