Rinku Singh lit up IPL 2023 like no other. Last week, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star went into God mode in the last over of the chase in the match against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad as he struck five sixes to help his side complete 205-run chase. India batting legend Virender Sehwag has now compared Rinku with the likes of MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar while making a staggering comment on his never-seen-before feat in IPL. (KKR vs SRH Live Score, IPL 2023)
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Sehwag, in conversation with Cricbuzz moments before the start of KKR’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, compared Rinku with the legendary Dhoni and Sachin, explaining that his presence in the KKR line-up is similar to what the two India legends were for the national side during their time.
“There is a belief in KKR team that Rinku Singh is still there. When MS Dhoni had started finishing off games, there was a belief that Dhoni is still there. In 90s, it was if Tendulkar is there match can be won, if not then no. Now the same thing is with KKR and Rinku Singh. Before it was Andre Russell for them,” he said.
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The former India batter however feels that the feat of five straight sixes by Rinku, the only ever batter to do so in the last over of an IPL game, is neither to be achieved again by him nor be ever broken.
“This has never happened in the history of cricket and Rinku Singh will never be able to do this again. This record that has happened, it might be broke, but Rinku will never in his life be able to hit 6 sixes and break that record,” he said.
Sehwag also opined that Rinku did have a bit of luck in his favour in that match against GT. He said that if it was Alzarri Joseph bowling the final over, it would have been difficult or impossible to hit five sixes and was only possible because of the mindset he had on seeing Yash Dayal with the ball, whom he has faced umpteen times in the nets for the Uttar Pradesh domestic team.
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“You also need a bit of luck. If it was Alzarri Joseph bowling even Rinku would have known that he wouldn’t be able to hit him. But he has faced Yash Dayal all his life in the nets. So Rinku had the right mindset,” he added.
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