The encounter between Kolkata Knight Riders and the reigning champion Gujarat Titans, according to former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh, was the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) best match in 2023. In Ahmedabad, Rinku Singh hammered five sixes in the final five balls to lead KKR to a three-wicket victory over GT.
Rinku Singh is an all-rounder for the Kolkata Knight Riders. He was at the top of his game on Sunday, slamming five sixes in the final five balls to help his team defeat the Gujarat Titans, the defending champions, by three wickets in a historic IPL 2023 match. Few people would have predicted that KKR would win the game with 29 runs needed off the final over.
Umesh Yadav gave Rinku the strike with his single on the first ball. He hit five sixes off the last five balls to win the game for KKR.
Gujarat Titans vs Kolkata Knight Riders: An Epic IPL 2023 Match
On Sunday, Kolkata Knight Riders all-arounder Rinku Singh excelled in an IPL 2023 game. He hit five sixes in the final five deliveries to assist his team in a three-wicket victory over the reigning champion Gujarat Titans.
Rinku was batting on 9 from 14 deliveries at one point in the game. The batter began his assault on the ball on the fifth bowl of the 19th over and smacked Joshua Little for six and four runs off the next two deliveries.
For KKR to win, 29 runs were needed in the last over. Hardly anyone had predicted the team would go on to win the game. Umesh Yadav took a single off the opening ball, allowing Rinku to bat. The first six of Rinku’s barrage came when he hit the second delivery hard towards extra cover.
Dayal then attempted to deliver a yorker but was unsuccessful; instead, he bowled a full toss, which Rinku easily guided over the fine leg boundary for yet another maximum. The batter opened his hands and sent Dayal’s second full toss, this time far outside-off, over cover.
Dayal and GT’s acting captain Rashid Khan had a lengthy conversation after the third six, but Rinku was unfazed and hit the next ball over long-on to give the Knight Riders the victory. He did this by taking the aerial route directly over the bowler’s head.
GT vs KKR: How the drama unfolded
The Titans had earlier won the toss and chosen to bat first. Vijay Shankar had a spectacular final few overs of the game, finishing undefeated on 63 off just 24 deliveries while smashing five sixes and four fours.
Rashid even took a hat-trick in the 17th over as the Titans maintained their advantage till the game’s 19th over. Big-ticket talents Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Shardul Thakur were all out on consecutive deliveries by the GT spinner. But Rinku eventually led the team to victory.
The once-unknown batter from the northern Indian city of Aligarh. He was raised helping his father haul gas cylinders on a motorbike. He was born into a low-income family.
In 2018, Shah Rukh Khan’s cricket team, KKR, bought him in a player draft for 800,000 Indian rupees ($9,759). Since then, he has been making a consistent income, which he claims has helped him provide a decent livelihood for his family.
What happened to Yash Dayal, the bowler at the receiving end?
Cricket, on the other hand, has a reputation for being a cruel game. This lesson had to be painfully learned by Yash Dayal. The left-arm pacer for the Gujarat Titans has to go through an unanticipated setback in his cricket career since being hit for five consecutive sixes by Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Rinku Singh when 28 runs were required off the final five balls in an IPL 2023 match.
Dayal was one of GT’s young talents of the season during their title-winning season the previous year. He not only lost his spot in the XI but also saw a significant decline in his mental and physical condition.
Dayal’s “condition is still not good enough” for him to bowl again. According to Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya, it might be a while until he returns. More than a week has passed since that tragic day at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Hardik claims that Dayal lost about 7-8 kg as a result of illness after Rinku’s assault. He brought up this after Tuesday’s resounding GT victory over the Mumbai Indians.
