Rinku crashed 67 runs off 33 balls and nearly pulled off a sensational win for Kolkata, which needed 41 off the final two overs to overhaul Lucknow’s total of 176-8.
“The five ball six was there in the back of mind. I was very relaxed and thought I will hit the way I have. We needed 21 runs in the last over. I missed one ball otherwise, we would have won,” he told reporters after the maych.
Singh hit 20 off fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq in the penultimate over, and in the last over Lucknow impact player Yash Thakur hung on despite conceding two sixes and a four against Singh off the final three balls. Kolkata ended at 175-7.
Rinku Singh reaches his FIFTY with a 110m MAXIMUM 🔥🔥
21 off 7 now required!#TATAIPL | #KKRvLSG pic.twitter.com/9HbcmAFL85
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 20, 2023
The 26-year-old southpaw had an amazing season after he finished the tournament with 474 runs, including four fifties with a strike rate of 149.53.
Rinku is not thinking much ahead and he is not worried about the India call-up.
“It feels really good when you have this kind of a season. I am not thinking about India selection, I will keep working the way I am,” he said.
The Aligarh lad admitted that after the five sixes his life has changed drastically. Rinku was the talk of the town after he pulled off a heist by hitting five sixes in a row off Gujarat Titans medium pacer Yash Dayal when KKR required 28 off the last five deliveries. His unbeaten 48 off just 21 balls resulted in a three-wicket win off the last ball of the match.
“Family is very happy. People started knowing me from last year but ever since I have hit five sixes, I’ve been getting a lot of respect,” he said.
On KKR’s performance in this year’s IPL, he said: “We have a good side. We did a couple of mistakes in all the departments and a bit of bad luck also cost us the play-off spot.”