‘Kohli was the same age when he started performing’: Kaif on IPL 2023 sensation | Cricket

It may have been over three days since Rinku Singh produced an unbelievable outing in the final over of the game against Gujarat Titans, but the fans and former cricketers alike continue to rave about his performance. With 28 runs to win off the final five overs of the match, Kolkata Knight Riders‘ Rinku smashed five sixes in a row against Yash Dayal, taking the side to a famous win at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Rinku was justifiably named the player of the match after an incredible outing, and became an overnight sensation in the league. Ben Stokes, Virender Sehwag, and even Indian captain Rohit Sharma expressed their surprise at Rinku’s brilliant outing against Titans, and former India batter Mohammed Kaif has made a rather interesting remark on the KKR star.

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Kaif, who played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore between 2011-2013 in the tournament, namedropped Virat Kohli and drew his similarities with Rinku as he talked about the KKR batter’s match-winning knock.

“See, Virat Kohli was the same age when he started playing well. Kohli used to play 5-6 for RCB in the initial years; so does Rinku Singh. What a performance. The last six that he hit, he actually charged down the track for that. No one had expected KKR to win, everyone had switched off the TV. But Rinku was there,” Kaif said on Star Sports.

Kohli is the only cricketer who has represented only one franchise since the inception of the league in 2008; he made his mark in the league in the 2011 season of the tournament, when he scored 557 runs in 16 matches at a terrific average of 46.41. He was 23 at the time.

Rinku had been batting on 9 off 14 deliveries when he began an assault on Gujarat Titans during the afternoon match on Sunday. The 25-year-old batter smashed Josh Little for a four and a six, and after Umesh Yadav – his batting partner – took a single off the first ball of the final over, Rinku smashed five sixes to take KKR to victory.