Rinku Singh came dangerously close to repeating the miracle he had pulled off for the Kolkata Knight Riders against the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad last month after going all-out against the Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday in Kolkata. Despite his heroics, LSG earned a dramatic 1-run victory in the last group-stage match to advance as the third team into the Indian Premier League playoff stages after Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings. However, LSG spinner Ravi Bishnoi stated that he feared LSG would lose to KKR due to the way Rinku Singh was batting. Follow IPL 2023 LIVE updates with InsideSport.IN
“Always feels good after a win. Morale is down.. sorry morale is up. See I’m not even able to talk properly. The way Rinku was batting, every ball there was a fear of the match getting away,” Bishnoi said after the game.
“Ball was sticking in the wicket today. Felt if the spinners bowled well, target will be difficult to get. Focus was to get wickets, bowl wicket to wicket. We’ll fight hard in the playoffs and try to win the trophy,” he said.
KKR vs LSG Highlights: Rinku Singh heroics in vain as LSG seal playoffs spot with 1-run win
Rinku had hit five sixes off left-arm seamer Yash Dayal at the Narendra Modi Stadium on April 9 to lead KKR to one of their most famous triumphs in the long history of the Indian Premier League. He was aiming to score 21 runs off of six deliveries when he faced right-arm pacer Yash Thakur this time. He was off strike at the start of the 20th over as well, and he only returned to the striker’s end with a single off the first ball.
Thakur made sure the job got virtually difficult by bowling two dots in the opening part of the over, while giving up a few wides under duress. This left Rinku having to smash three straight sixes to pull off another heist. Rinku did manage to smash two maximums, but a four that came off a drive past the additional cover area was what kept them apart. Playing against the team from his home state of Uttar Pradesh, the left-handed batter amassed his highest IPL score of 67 off 33 deliveries, ranking it among his career’s finest hits, while remaining unbeaten.
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