As Alzarri Joseph finished Venkatesh Iyer’s fine knock in the 14th over and Rashid Khan claimed an exceptional hat-trick in the 16th, KKR’s chase looked to have derailed in between. While Iyer had kept them in the hunt with his stunning knock, the flurry of wickets in between meant Gujarat Titans were on the verge of registering yet another win. However, it was Rinku Singh who made impossible possible with five sixes in the final over and sealed the deal for KKR.
After the game, Iyer admitted rather honestly that he didn’t think of a win when the equation was 48 off 18 balls. Rinku turned the table, and by the time he hit the second of the five sixes, the KKR dugout was filled with belief that they could win the game as well.
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“I’ll be honest with you, I thought we couldn’t win it,” Venkatesh Iyer said in the post-match press conference. “Everyone ruled us out. To score 40-odd of three overs with not a lot of batting left. Of course Rinku was there but I didn’t believe that it could happen. We knew that Yash (Dayal) is going to bowl the last over and he’s an amazing bowler but it was not his night. When the second six happened, we can actually win this game. God always gives these moments to people with a golden heart. Rinku is someone that everyone likes and I am really happy that God has given him this very moment.”
However, Rinku Singh himself didn’t think he could hit five sixes. After the game, he also revealed that his plan was to ‘react to every ball’.
“To be honest I was not thinking much. Just reacting to every ball. I never thought I would hit five sixes. I just kept hitting. I had the belief. And we won the match,” Rinku said at the post-match presentation.
However, Venkatesh Iyer also reckoned that it is a win that is going to be cherished by the team for a long time as well.
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“This match is going to be remembered for the ‘Lord Rinku’ show. Obviously everyone ruled us out before the last two overs but obviously to come back from there and win is something that won’t happen everyday. We’re going to cherish this game for a very long time,” Venkatesh Iyer concluded.
KKR will now face Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens on Friday (April 14).
