IPL 2023: 6, 6, 6, 6, 6

With 28 required off last five balls, middle-order batsman Rinku Singh slams five consecutive sixes to hand KKR thrilling three-wicket win over Gujarat Titans

What a heist by little-known Rinku Singh! He pulled the (red) carpet under Gujarat Titans’ feet to give Kolkata Knight Riders a heart-stopping three-wicket win at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. KKR needed 29 in the last over before Rinku swatted Yash Dayal for five successive sixes to seal the match after Umesh Yadav had given him the strike with a single.

Hat-trick for Rashid Khan

That titanic last-over KKR tornado came after the first hat-trick of IPL 16 by Titans skipper Rashid Khan in the 17th over and a whirlwind late onslaught by Vijay Shankar (63, 24 balls, 4x4, 5x6) that took the home team’s total to 204.

While the hosts’ leg-spinner Rashid jolted KKR with his hat-trick, the three KKR mystery spinners failed to cast their collective magic to stop Titans’ batters from plundering runs on a red-soil paradise for the batters.  

It was an energy-sapping day as the mercury touched 40c before the match started. KKR’s Impact Player Venkatesh Iyer (83, 40 balls, 8x4, 5x6) batted brilliantly to keep KKR in the hunt. He, however, ran out of gas due to excessive heat and succumbed to a tired-looking hoist to Alzarri Joseph (2-27).

Narine raised hopes for the KKR fans by taking the first Titans wicket in the second ball of the fifth over when Wriddhiman Saha mistimed a sweep shot for Narayan Jagadeesan to run a few yards backwards to take a diving catch at midwicket.

The second mystery spinner, Varun Chakravarthy looked out of sorts at the other end as he leaked 16 runs that included two successive fours by Shubman Gill. First, the Titans opener stepped out to hit Chakravarthy through the covers. Next ball, he rocked back to hit him through the same region. Swapping ends with Narine didn’t help Chakravarthy as he conceded 11 runs in his second over, including a six off the last ball by southpaw Sai Sudharsan (53, 38 balls, 3x4, 2x6) over long on after which he didn’t bowl for the rest of the match.

In their first spell, Narine, Chakravarthy and Suyash Sharma conceded 57 runs in six overs. Narine, who also broke the second wicket 67-run partnership between Gill (39, 31 balls, 5x4) and Sudharsan, came back stronger for his second spell, finishing with three wickets but overall, the three spinners ended up conceding 95 runs in 63 balls (three wides).

Also read: Depleted KKR seek home comfort against star-studded RCB

Shankar dominates

Lockie Ferguson, who had conceded only 13 runs in his first three overs, was taken to the cleaners by Shankar in the 19th over that went for 26 runs. Shankar dominated his 51-run partnership with David Miller by hitting 49 runs.

Shankar picked both Ferguson and Shardul Thakur with ease, sending deliveries from off stump line over midwicket as he hit five sixes, including three successive ones off Thakur, for 45 runs in the last two overs of the innings.

Dayal failed to hold his nerve as Rinku lapped his three full tosses and two short-pitched balls for five sixes in the final over of the match to give Mumbai-based KKR coach Chandrakant Pandit a dramatic win to cherish for a long time.

Brief scores
GT 204-4 in 20 overs (V Shankar 63*, S Sudharsan 53, S Gill 39; S Narine 3-33) lost to KKR 207-7 in 20 overs (V Iyer 83, R Singh 48*, N Rana 45; R Khan 3-37, A Joseph 2-27) by three wickets

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