Former India cricketer Ravi Shastri is all praise for Kolkata Knight Riders batter Rinku Singh, who played a blinder against the Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday. He hailed the youngster as a “pocket rocket”.
The Kolkata Knight Riders had to chase down 211 runs to stay alive in the Indian Premier League 2022 season playoff race. They seemed to be in trouble, with six wickets down for 150 runs. However, Rinku Singh and Sunil Narine brought them back into the game with their batting onslaught.
Rinku Singh slammed two fours and four sixes during his stay at the crease, to almost win the match for the Knight Riders. But as luck would have it, an outstanding catch by Evin Lewis sent Rinku back to the pavilion. The Kolkata Knight Riders lost the match by two runs, and have been eliminated from the playoffs race.
While speaking to the Espncricinfo post-match, Ravi Shastri showered praise on Rinku Singh. He expressed that the youngster is a free-spirited cricketer and gives it his all on the field. Shastri said,
“Rinku Singh is a pocket rocket. How well he batted. He is a free-spirited cricketer. The way he fields and takes catches, he really enjoys himself and gives it everything. In the batting, we saw that he may be small in frame but hits the ball really hard. Really enjoyed his batting. After Russell got out, it seemed KKR’s hopes were over, but Rinku’s 40 off 15 balls brought them back in the game out of nowhere.”
RINKU SINGH THOUGH 🙌
40 runs
15 balls
2 fours
4 sixesOne of the BEST knocks in the IPL this year 🔥 pic.twitter.com/UybwkEkVrv
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) May 18, 2022
Kolkata Knight Riders showed a lot of character – Ravi Shastri
The Lucknow Super Giants put on a mammoth 210 runs on the board in the first innings. Openers Quinton De Kock and KL Rahul remained unbeaten taking their side to a match-winning total. De Kock slammed his second Indian Premier League century, while KL Rahul scored 68 runs.
In response, the Kolkata Knight Riders lost both their openers for just nine runs within the first three overs. However, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, and Sam Billings’ fiery knocks kept them in the match. Former cricketer Ravi Shastri has expressed that it was a brilliant effort from the Shreyas Iyer-led team to fight back after the early hurdles.
“KKR showed a lot of character after being 9 for 2 in a chase of 211. Shreyas Iyer started the fightback by attacking and featured in a good partnership with Nitish Rana. That stand gave them some momentum. They showed good character to cross 200. That was positive for Kolkata,” said Ravi Shastri.
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