Rinku Singh of the Kolkata Knight Riders, who blasted five consecutive sixes to secure a dramatic three-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans in the IPL at Ahmedabad on Sunday, found the enormous Narendra Modi Stadium to be too small and the asking rate of 29 to low.
Just when it seemed everything was lost for KKR after wily Afghanistan spinner and stand-in captain Rashid Khan had taken a hat-trick in the 17th over to reduce KKR to 155/7, Rinku (48 not out off 21 balls) did the Houdini Act to eke out one of the most memorable wins in the history of the Indian Premier League. KKR needed 29 runs in the final over to attain the winning target of 205.
Umesh Yadav took a single to give the strike to Rinku, who looked like a genius with the bat. It seemed like he was waving a magic wand, which could fetch him a maximum at his beck and call. With 28 needed off the last five balls, Rinku took the aerial route on all five deliveries to conjure up magic hardly ever seen before in an IPL game. Even as a wave of jubilation spread in the KKR camp, the Titans dugout went silent. Venkatesh Iyer was the other hero for KKR on the day.
The 28-year-old Madhya Pradesh batter made a real 'impact' and brought KKR to the brink of victory with a smashing 84 off 40 deliveries, as the two-time IPL champions looked set to chase down the 200-plus target, before Rinku unleashed his full fury to silence the crowd and leave the Titans fielders looking skyward.
The left-handed batter's 100-run partnership with captain Nitish Rana (45 off 29 balls) was the cornerstone of KKR's massive fightback and came days after both the batters had failed in their match against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Eden Gardens on April 6. Putting the disappointment of scoring just three runs in the previous game on the back-burner, Iyer -- who came in as an 'Impact Player' for Suyash Sharma -- took the stadium by storm, unleashing eight fours and five sixes, leaving the Titans baffled. Iyer came to the crea
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