Former Indian Cricketer Virender Sehwag lauded KKR young Indian finisher Rinku Singh for his calm and composed approach in the chase against the Lucknow Super Giants as he held his cool in the final over to fall just one run short at the end of the innings.
Though the two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders are eliminated from the league stage, they have unearthed a finisher in the form of Rinku Singh, who has been the standout performer from the team in this edition of the Indian Premier League.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Virender Sehwag praised the youngster Rinku Singh for keeping his cool in the chase, as he didn’t pressurize the non-strikers as he kept things simple in the final overs, and reckons that he has been fantastic in the chases for KKR in IPL 2023.
“Rinku kept himself cool and calm during the chase. Not once did he even tell Vaibhav Arora what the game plan would be. He just kept it simple and calm in the middle. Rinku has shown calmness whenever KKR was chasing. Even today, he remained unbeaten and fell short by just one run,” Virender Sehwag said.
KKR youngster Rinku Singh scored his highest run in IPL 2023 with unbeaten 67 runs off 33 balls at a strike rate of 203.03, including four sixes and six boundaries to almost chase down the total but found no support from the other batters.
“Rinku Singh tried very hard but none of the other batters did anything. There were a lot of hopes from Russell, but nothing happened. If he had stuck around for a little while with Rinku, the result of the match could have been different,” Sehwag added.
Rinku Singh has been the revelation from Kolkata Knight Riders even as the franchise failed to qualify for the playoffs of the cash-rich league. The Southpaw scored 474 runs in 14 matches at an average of 59.25 and a strike rate of 149.52, with four half-centuries.
I’d Say Even If Shardul Thakur Was There With Rinku In The Final Over… Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag feels that Shardul Thakur should have taken the responsibility alongside Rinku Singh in end overs as he could have helped the side to chase down the total and reckons that is not fair to expect from a youngster like Vaibhav Arora.
“I’d say even if Shardul Thakur was there with Rinku in the final over, the single or double that they missed, they would have taken and Shardul can also hit the ball, which we can’t expect from Vaibhav Arora,” Virender Sehwag added.
The Southpaw has been serving them as the finisher of the team, as Rinku Singh has been winning the games single-handedly for his side in IPL 2023 by producing some dramatic last-ball finishes as he came into the limelight with a finish against Gujarat Titans in their league game.