Second week of IPL: Last ball finishes and Rinku's five sixes

mid-day.com looks at the performances that made headlines in the second week of the cash-rich T20 league

Last-ball finishes

THE first week saw no matches going down to the wire. However, this week witnessed the fate of four matches finishing on the final ball on four consecutive days. On Sunday, Rinku Singh handed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) a dramatic last-ball finish over defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT), while on Monday and Tuesday, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Mumbai Indians (MI) emerged victorious with one needed off the final ball. However, on Wednesday, with five required off the last ball, skipper MS Dhoni failed to take hosts Chennai Super Kings (CSK) over the line against Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Rinku's five sixes

RINKU Singh stunned one and all by smashing five sixes off the last five deliveries to hand KKR an unbelievable victory over GT on Sunday. With 28 required off the last five balls, the 25-year-old sent pacer Yash Dayal’s delivery over extra-cover for a six. Rinku hit the second ball over backward square-leg, while he smashed the third consecutive full toss from Dayal over the long-off boundary. Now, with 10 required off two balls, Rinku muscled the next ball over long-on, while the left-arm pacer's final delivery of the over was sent over long-off as Rinku smashed five sixes in five balls for KKR to achieve one of the most remarkable run chases in IPL history.

Another golden duck for Surya

THE monkey doesn't seem to be getting off MI's Suryakumar Yadav's back. The middle-order batsman achieved an infamous feat—three golden ducks (dismissed off the first ball)—during the three-match ODI series against Australia last month. His dip in form continued in IPL-16 too, with Suryakumar being dismissed for a first ball duck against Delhi Capitals off pacer Mukesh Kumar during MI's third match of the season. He was dismissed for 15 in the opening match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), while he fell for just one against CSK. 

Warner's poor strike-rate, a concern for DC

DELHI Capitals skipper David Warner, known for his slam-bang batting style, has been criticised for his slow batting despite scoring three half-centuries in four matches. Though the Australian has scored 209 runs at an average of 52.25, his painfully slow knocks affected the team and the skipper was held responsible for DC's poor show so far this season. 

The southpaw's three half centuries included a 48-ball 56 at a strike rate of 116.66 against LSG, 55-ball 65 at a strike rate of 118.18 against RR and 47-ball 51 (strike rate 108.51) against MI.

Chase and win the match

The first week saw five out of nine matches won by the team batting first. However, quite contrary to the opening week, the second week saw just two teams winning after batting first, while seven matches were won by teams batting second.  Chases included two 200-plus totals as well. Chasing 205, KKR beat GT on their home ground, while hosts RCB failed to defend 212-2 against LSG.  

Also read: IPL 2023: All eyes on Rinku at Eden!

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