Rinku Singh continues to fascinate the cricket world with his amazing finishing skills. Ever since his exploits in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL), the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) lower middle-order batter has earned the 'finisher' tag. The 25-year-old last month set the UP T20 League on fire with 3 consecutive sixes in the Super Over and now delivered a stunning knock in India's Asian Games 2022 opener.
India played Nepal in the quarter-finals of the major multi-sports event at the Pingfeng Campus Cricket Field in Hangzhou on Tuesday, October 3. The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side won the match by 23 runs and advanced to the semi-finals, where they will face either Bangladesh or Malaysia on October 6. Opting to bat first, Yashasvi Jaiswal and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad gave a steady start for India with a 100-plus run partnership.
However, Gaikwad struggled to find runs and it was Jaiswal's innings that laid the foundation. The southpaw notched up a blistering century - joint fourth-fastest by an Indian. When India lost three wickets in quick succession - Gaikwad (25), Jitesh Sharma (5) and Tilak Varma (2) - they needed one more to step up along with Jaiswal to score a competitive total. Shivam Dube and Rinku Singh put on a 22-ball 52* partnership to take India past 200 runs.
Rinku delivers good news for Indian cricket
Walking to bat at No. 6, Rinku remained unbeaten on 37 off just 15 balls on the back of four sixes and two fours. The Uttar Pradesh-born cricketer scored 23 runs in the final over with figures of 6, 6, 4, 1, 6 to help the team finish at 202/4 after 20 overs. He has been sensational in this role for the past year and this is great news for Indian cricket.
Here's a glimpse of Rinku's stunning knock:
The Rinku Singh show 🔥
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 3, 2023
He has been a sensational finisher in T20 in last 1 year, great news for Indian cricket in coming years. pic.twitter.com/44FKQ3Ywcx
Rinku rose to fame after shining for KKR in the 16th edition of the IPL, which earned him a maiden international call-up during the 2023 T20I series against Ireland. Not many might have forgotten his five consecutive sixes off Yash Dayal in the last over to seal an incredible win for KKR. The Kolkata-based franchise had a disappointing outing, but it was a game-changing season for Rinku.