Kolkata Knight Riders batsman Rinku Singh played a crucial knock of 23-ball 42* to help his side beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in IPL 2022 on May 2. Head coach Brendon McCullum showered praises upon the 24-year-old, who received his maiden Player of the Match award in the aftermath of the victory at Wankhede Stadium.
Chasing 153, KKR lost their opening pair Aaron Finch and Baba Indrajith inside the powerplay. Shreyas Iyer (34 off 32) added a 60-run partnership with Nitish Rana, who scored an unbeaten 48 off 37. But it was Rinku Singh who put the accelerator on, scoring unbeaten 42 off 23 to take the side home.
Rinku has been a part of the Kolkata-based franchise for four years now and is very popular among players and fans. Speaking in the post-match interview, McCullum was happy to see the player make the most of his opportunity.
“He has been in the franchise for a long period of time. Lucky enough to spend some time with him. He needed to make a statement and he made it in the first game itself. Rana was out in the middle and that gave him (Rinku) a lot of confidence in his company,”
he said.
Rinku has made important contributions for the team since he has been included in the playing XI, scoring 35 against Gujarat Titans followed by 23 versus Delhi Capitals.
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With this win, KKR broke their streak of losing five matches on the trot. McCullum praised everyone in the side for sticking together and putting in an all-round show.
“Very pleased obviously. (Losing) Five games on the bounce, it’s not easy. I need to compliment all the guys for the way they played tonight. Tonight was a fantastic performance, from two guys who are very good friends,”
he added.
The Knight Riders currently have eight points to their name, having won four games out of 10. Their playoffs hopes are still alive, with four victories needed from the remaining four matches for outright qualification.
