For Kolkata Knight Riders’ Rinku Singh, his road to success has been a bit of a roller coaster, but he never stopped or gave up and added a legendary chapter to the IPL story on Sunday.
Even the world’s top batters didn’t think they could hit five consecutive sixes with their team needing 28 from the last five balls, but KKR’s left-handed Rinku did the impossible! His 48 not out from 21 balls, including six sixes and one four, secured an incredible 200-plus chase in the last few moments of the game.
This was undoubtedly one of the most unlikely and sensational victories in IPL history, against the unstoppable Gujarat Titans whose stand-in captain Rashid Khan was about to seal the deal with the first hat-trick of the season.
While Rinku’s story will also feature among the ‘rags to riches’ story with the cricketer now having a contract worth Rs 55 lakh with KKR, it is extraordinary because what transpired on Sunday evening was the culmination of all the hard work put in by the 25-year-old and the unwavering faith and support from the KKR franchise.
Hailing from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, Rinku comes from a lower-middle-class family. His father delivered LPG cylinders while in the 2015-16 season when they had a debt of Rs 5 lakh, Rinku, while playing for the UP under-19 side, began saving from his daily allowance and even took up the job of a domestic worker where he would have been required to sweep and mop.
“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,” Rinku said after his match-winning knock.
One of the earliest products of the KKR academy, Rinku has worked extensively with the team’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar and the results were there in Ranji Trophy as well.
After his amazing match-winning knock, KKR skipper Nitish Rana said,
“Credit goes to Rinku Singh. People asked me why Rinku Singh doesn’t get a bigger role, and always plays a small role. I want to say to those reporters if this is the second role, imagine what he can do with the first role. Last match he played a different role, and he did it well. I don’t have words for him.” Venkatesh Iyer, who helped anchor the chase with a stunning 83 from 40 balls, said, “This match will be remembered for the Lord Rinku show. Everyone (would have) ruled us out for the last two overs but to comeback from there and win is something that I know will not happen everyday. We are going to cherish this game for a very long time.”
