Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had a new hero Rinku Singh on Sunday evening, who hit five sixes in the final over to secure a memorable victory over the defending Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
While speaking exclusively to Sports Tak, Rinku revealed that he texted Yash Dayal and tried to motivate him. The two of them are statements and close friends as well. "I texted Yash after the game, saying it happens in cricket, you did really well last year, I just tried to motivate him a little," Rinku Singh told India Today Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai in an exclusive interview.
With 29 runs needed in the last over of the match, the diminutive batter hit five consecutive sixes to etch his name in history books. Coming off Yash Dayal's over, Rinku snatched the victory from the Titans' grasp, after Rashid Khan's hat trick ended their prospects of chasing down a mighty total of 205 runs.
The Afghanistan star and stand-in skipper took the wickets of the dangerous duo of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, and then the wicket of Shardul Thakur, the hero of KKR's last match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Rinku finished the match with 48 runs off 21 balls, including 30 runs off the final over of the match. While the plaudits were directed towards Rinku for his phenomenal batting, and rightly so, the Kolkata-based franchise also spared a thought for Dayal and posted a heartwarming message for the young pacer.
"Chin up, lad. Just a hard day at the office happens to the best of players in cricket. You're a champion, @imyash_dayal, and you're gonna come back strong," KKR wrote on Instagram.
After completing a daunting task even the best hitters of the cricket world would not back themselves to do, Rinku did not have tears in his eyes when he showed up for the post-match presentation but his words told a different story. "My father struggled a lot, I come from a farmer's family. Every ball that I hit out of the ground was dedicated to the people who sacrificed so much for me," the 25-year-old said.
KKR is a product of the KKR Academy. His contract of Rs 55 lakh may not justify what he pulled on an adrenaline-filled Sunday evening but he always had a hunger for it since his under-19 side for Uttar Pradesh. He had humble beginnings as his father delivered LPG cylinders and the family had a debut of Rs 5 lakh but it did not stop him from giving up on the dream of playing cricket.
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