Rinku Singh stuns cricket world with insane final-over heroics in IPL

Rinku Singh is the talk of the cricket world after blasting five-consecutive sixes in the final over to guide Kolkata Knight Riders to an extraordinary win in the IPL. On a day when Aussie star Matt Short fluffed his lines on debut in the T20 tournament, Singh was being hailed as "Lord Rinku" after one of the most miraculous wins the white-ball game has ever witnessed.

Chasing the Gujarat Titans' total of 205 in Ahmedabad on Sunday, Rinku was left with the seemingly impossible task of scoring 28 off the final five deliveries of the match. But in incredible scenes, the 25-year-old did exactly that - blasting five consecutive sixes.

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With Kolkata needing 29 runs off the last over, Yash Dayal was handed the ball to seemingly bowl the Titans to a comfortable victory. But after giving up a single to Umesh Yadav, he completely lost his nerve when facing Rinku.

Umesh just told Rinku "Hit it - don't think", and it proved sage advice. Rinku helped himself to three full tosses from Dayal, before he then fetched the last two balls from outside off-stump and deposited them over the long-on boundary to give Kolkata a three-wicket win.

"I was just trying to hit sixes. I was not thinking a lot, was just reacting to the ball," said Rinku, who finished with an unbeaten 48 from 21 balls after breaking the record for most runs by any batter in the final over of an IPL run-chase. "It kept coming out of the middle. I had belief and it came off in the end."

Venkatesh Iyer, who earlier slammed a 40-ball 83, said: "Somewhere, we lost our way - but Lord Rinku saved the day. This teaches us that we should never give up until the last ball.

"Tonight was another example that we will never give up as a team. The wicket was quite good to bat and I was just trying to execute my plans." Knight Riders captain Nitish Rana smiled: "Out of a hundred matches, you will win one like this."

Kolkata slipped to 7-155 and looked long-odds to win following a hat-trick from Afghanistan star Rashid Khan. The leg-spinner, who now has four hat-tricks in T20 cricket, went for a celebratory sprint after dismissing Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Shardul Thakur.

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar wrote on Twitter: "One felt Rashid's hat-trick was a game-changer but Rinku's power-hitting was something special. Enjoyed the last few moments. This amazing game continues to teach us that it's not over till it's over."

Rashid, who was standing in as captain for the unwell Hardik Pandya, said: "A tough game for us, especially as a captain. That is what T20 is all about, it is about entertainment."

Matt Short suffers disappointment in IPL debut

In the later game, BBL player of the tournament Short lasted just three games in his debut for Punjab Kings in Hyderabad. The Aussie star was trapped lbw for one by Sunrisers' South African paceman Marco Jansen.

Short, who was snapped up by the Kings as a late replacement for Jonny Bairstow, came in at No.3 but was quickly on his way after hitting across the line. Captain Shikhar Dhawan proved Punjab's mainstay with an unbeaten 99 out of 9-143, but Hyderabad waltzed to victory by eight wickets thanks to a brilliant knock of 74 not out from Rahul Triphati.

with agencies

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