‘Sorry Rinku Singh you deserve better. This management has made a mockery of your talent’: KKR get battered by fans
Rinku Singh had an impossible task of getting 19 off 3 balls when Harshit gave him the strike. The left-hander hit two fours and a six to remain 38* off 15.
When Rinku Singh walked out to bat at No.8, yes, you read that right, against Lucknow Super Giants at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata Knight Riders needed 62 runs off 28 balls. Considering the conditions and Rinku and his batting partner Andre Russell's track record, it was very much gettable. But the question is, why would you wait till the situation reached this extreme level before sending someone like Rinku into bat?
The pressure of hitting every alternate ball for a boundary brings with it the chance of losing wickets and that's exactly what happened to Russell. The West Indies big-hitter hit a six in the 16th over but was holed out in the 17th over, leaving too much to do for Rinku alone.
The left-hander, however, put in a gallant effort. Rinku ended the 17th over with a boundary through the off-side. Hit another one off leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi in the 18th over. His big hitting was on full display in the 19th over, bowled Avesh Khan. The left-hander hit Avesh for a six and two fours but in between, there were three dot balls as Rinku decided to farm strike.
When KKR needed 28 off in the last over, Harshit Rana got a four off Ravi Bishnoi's first ball but missed the next. Rinku had an impossible task of getting 19 off 3 balls when Harshit gave him the strike. The left-hander hit two fours and a six to remain unbeaten on 38 off 15 balls as KKR came very close to pulling off a big run chase. They lost the match by four runs.
If the KKR think tank had sent Rinku earlier instead of maintaining the right and left-hand combination, the story could well have been different for the defending champions. This has been the scene for Rinku since the last season. The man from UP, who was in line for a spot in India's T20 World Cup squad last year, lost out as he did not get much time in the middle in the IPL. KKR used him as a finisher, and Rinku got very few balls to bat as their top order was firing.
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Even this year, the three-time champions have been quite happy to bat Angrish Raghuvanshi ahead of Rinku. The KKR fans did not like the way Rinku was being treated.
Fans slam KKR coach and captain for Rinku Singh treatment
Ajinkya Rahane's blistering knock goes in vain as KKR lose
KKR were chasing 239 against LSG. They got a brilliant start thanks to captain Ajinkya Rahane and Sunil Narine, who got them to 90/1 in the powerplay. After Narine's dismissal, Venkatesh Ieyr joined Rahane and the duo kept KKR's noses in front. It was Rahane's dismissal that changed everything.
On a night dominated by batters, KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane rolled back the years with a power-packed 61 off 35 balls, nearly pulling off KKR’s highest-ever run chase.
But LSG's spin attack, led by Ravi Bishnoi and Digvesh Rathi, applied the brakes just in time to seal a thrilling win, limiting KKR to 234/7 after the away team amassed 238 for three .
Rahane’s sparkling knock ended against the run of play, falling victim to Shardul Thakur’s wide-ball ploy.
Incidentally, LSG bowled 20 wides in a tactical strategy that seemed to have worked in the end.
At 162/3 in 13 overs, KKR were cruising with a current run rate of 12.46, comfortably ahead of the required 11 per over, needing just 77 off 42 balls.
But Rahane’s dismissal stalled the momentum and triggered a collapse as KKR lost four wickets for just 15 runs, slipping to 177/6 in 15.2 overs.
Ravi Bishnoi, who conceded 24 runs in his final over, managed to hold his nerve and defend the same in the last over despite Rinku Singh’s presence at the crease.
LSG leaked 38 runs in the 18th and 19th overs combined -- with Avesh Khan giving away 14 -- but Bishnoi closed out the game.Left-arm spinner Digvesh Rathi, a find of the season for LSG, impressed again with 1/33, including the prized wicket of Sunil Narine -- his idol -- off his very first ball.
His very first ball against Narine (30 off 13) had the Trinidadian mistiming a slash straight to long-off.
Aiden Markram completed the catch as Rathi, already under the scanner for his 'notebook' celebration (three demerit points), reprised it -- this time writing on the Eden grass.
Earlier, Quinton de Kock (15) fell to a DRS call in the third over before Rahane and Sunil Narine counter-attacked stunningly, dismantling LSG's Indian pace attack with disdain.
On a sultry afternoon, LSG's opening pair of Aiden Markram (47 off 28; 4x4, 2x6) and Marsh gave them a blazing start, adding 99 runs off just 62 balls.
Pooran then lit up the evening with his 36-ball unbeaten 87, studded with seven fours and eight sixes, to power them to their second-highest IPL total. Such was the domination that LSG reached 95 without loss at the halfway stage and then added 143 in the last 10 overs with Pooran leading the carnage.
