Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer has said that Rinku Singh’s quality to maintain his calm even after playing a few games is outstanding after winning against Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets. Rinku scored unbeaten 48 runs to help the team win by seven wickets and five balls to spare.
Kolkata Knight Riders have reviewed their campaign in the IPL 2022 by winning against Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in a low-scoring affair. KKR were chasing a target of 153 in the second innings to win the match. They were reduced to 32/2 at one stage but Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana steadied the innings. Shreyas was dismissed on 34 runs but Rinku Singh along with Rana stitched a winning partnership.
Rana scored unbeaten 48 runs from 37 balls but more important innings came from Rinku Singh as he smashed unbeaten 42 runs from 23 balls. The left-hander’s inning was studded with six boundaries and an innovative maximum over fine leg. His knock changed the whole dynamic and the team won the match with seven wickets in hand and five balls to spare. Reflecting on the innings by Rinku, Iyer said that he maintains his calm on the field and that is commendable.
“The way Rinku is maintaining his calm, playing only his second or third game, is outstanding. He is a great asset for the franchise in the future. The way he gets his starts, he doesn’t look like a newcomer,” Shreyas said in the post-match presentation.
Earlier in the match, KKR invited RR to bat first after winning the toss. It was a brilliant collective bowling effort from KKR. They conceded just 38 runs in the powerplay taking a single wicket and bowled on tight lines and lengths preventing the opposition batters to steer the scoreboard. Sanju Samson scored 54 runs from 49 balls and the team posted a total of 152/5. Umesh Yadav, Anukul Roy, and Shivam Mavi picked a single wicket each. Tim Southee bagged a couple of wickets for the team.
Shreyas praised the bowling unit for their performance and praised Umesh Yadav as his figures read 4-1-24-1 at the end of the game.
“Right from the powerplay when our bowlers conceded just 36 runs and took a wicket, it was just the start we needed. We have been talking about Umesh right from the start. He has increased his pace, and bowls those hard lengths and as a captain you just have to give him the ball to deliver. Whenever I give Sunil Narine the ball, he gets me wickets, but the batsmen don’t take chances against him. He is very economical, but when he gets a wicket, he gets a big one,” he stated.
Rinku Singh’s 48-run knock was a game-changing knock and he was awarded ‘Man of the Match’ for his performance. Rinku has been looking in good touch this season and has scored 100 runs from three innings at 50 so far.
Rinku revealed that he has waiting for five years for his opportunity to play in the IPL and he is now happy with the role he has got in the team.
“A lot of players have played Ranji from Aligarh, but I am the first to play the IPL. This is a big-league and there is a lot of pressure obviously. I have been waiting for the last five years to get a chance. I worked very hard, came back from injury and did well in the domestic circuit as well. When I was batting, Bhaiyya (Iyer) and Baz (McCullum) told me to stay till the end and finish it,” Rinku stated.
