After warming the benches for a couple of season, Rinku Singh finally made it big in the IPL, playing a match-winning knock against Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Monday night. His unbeaten 42 off 23 deliveries helped Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) chase down 153 runs at the Wankhede Stadium.
Rinku has been a part of the cash-rich league since 2017. However, he got only a few opportunities but didn’t any long rope to prove his potential. But yesterday was different. Rinku Singh, who has been belting runs in domestic cricket, cashed in on the opportunity against the Royals.
Chasing 153 runs, the Knight Riders were placed at 92/3 with Rinku and Nitish Rana in the middle. Just when it looked like Rajasthan would take the game away, the youngster from Uttar Pradesh launched a counter-attack to hand a defeat to Sanju Samson and Co.
As he hogs the limelight after years of hardwork and perseverance, Rinku Singh has his feet still grounded. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, the 24-year-old left-handed batter said:
“I am the first boy from Aligarh who has played the IPL. Many play the Ranji Trophy but not the IPL. This is a big league so there is a lot of pressure here. I was waiting a lot of years so I wanted a chance now. I worked very hard, came back from injury and scored lots of runs in the domestic games as well.”
“I cannot reveal that” – Rinku Singh on his conversation with Shreyas Iyer
The middle-order batsman also revealed the head coach Brendon McCullum wanted him to finish the game. However, he chose not to reveal his conversation with the KKR captain. Rinku Singh concluded:
“I had spoken to bhaiyya (Shreyas Iyer) and Baz (Brendon McCullum) had told me to finish off the game. (On what conversations he has with Iyer) I cannot reveal that, we keep talking about stuff (chuckles).”
Rinku has grabbed the opportunities so far scoring 35 runs against Gujarat Titans before chipping in with 23 and an unbeaten 42 against Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals respectively.
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