IPL 2023: It was unthinkable and unbelievable! But it was an incredible finish. 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 and WON! Rinku Singh pitched for Veni-Vedi-Vici… ‘Knight’ Rinku rode the blitzkrieg of sixes, batting for KKR’s stunning and impressive 3-wicket win. The cricketing event has left a lingering impact in the public domain. After Rashid Khan’s record hat-trick, Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2023, appeared down and out, but it bounced back with the bang of riding piggyback on swashbuckling batting heist of Rinku Singh as he smashed five consecutive sixes in the final over to script a three-wicket win in Ahmedabad against defending champions Gujarat Titans.
In the backdrop of Rashid Khan’s hat-trick — only three overs ago — KKR needed 29 runs off the last over against Gujarat Titans. It looked impossible and almost everyone had given up.
In the final over: Umesh Yadav took a single off the fist delivery. Subsequently, Rinku was on strike for the second ball of the final over. He scripted a thriller for KKR by hitting five consecutive sixes off Yash Dayal to seal KKR’s chase of 205, turning dusky evening into the scintillating Sunday bash for cricket aficionados.
Iconic cricketing event
Rinku, who played second fiddle to Shardul Thakur in the previous match, has become the first batter to hit five consecutive sixes in the last over to win the match. “No one has seen such cricketing stuff like Rinku,” as people whispered. The cricket lovers have seen several astonishing comebacks, but this will remain an iconic cricketing event as sports lovers have poured out their feelings on social media.
With unbeaten 48 off 21 deliveries during KKR nailing down a 200 plus, left-handed Rinku’s terrific knock against the rampaging Gujarat Titans added a glorious chapter to the IPL story that will remain etched deeply on people’s hearts.
Can-do spirit
For Rinku’s cricketing career, the road to success has been quite arduous and agonizingly long, but he never gave up or flinched. The Sunday blitz was the culmination of all his hard work and unwavering faith in his can-do capabilities.
The life’s journey of the 25-year-old cricketer weaves a quintessential character of ‘rags to riches’ story. At an early age he started work as a cleaner to save his family. Whatever Rinku had earned as a sweeper, he used to pay off the previous debts of the family. Hailing from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, he belongs to a lower middle-class family.
After his match-winning knock, Rinku said: “I come from a farmer’s family. My father struggled a lot. Every ball that I hit out of the ground was dedicated to the people who sacrificed so much for me,” reported PTI.’
‘Ninth fail’
Rinku’s father Khanchandra delivers LPG cylinders. His elder brother earns by driving an auto-rickshaw while another brother does a job in a coaching center, reported IE.
“Ninth fail,” says Rinku as he was not academically good. So, playing cricket was his Hobson’s choice. Now, the cricketer is having a contract worth Rs 80 lakh with KKR. “Socha tha 20 Lakh Mein Jaoonga, (thought I would get 20 lakhs), but I was picked up for 80,” he said, reported IE.
Tin roof to Team IPL
From Tin roof to Team IPL and from floor cleaning to slogging fours, the saga of Rinku has become inspirational for one and all and drives home the message that nothing is impossible. With his consistent hard work , passion for cricket with patience and can-do spirit, Rinku has climbed a mountain of opportunity and has become a household name overnight. He proved himself a Baazigar for KKR in the Ahmedabad IPL match and for those struggling cricketers who have to overcome all odds in life to reach the top.