Watch: Rinku Singh continued to excel in last-over finishes, producing yet another clutch cameo to seal a sensational, come-from-behind win for Kolkata Knight Riders against Punjab Kings in their IPL 2023 fixture in Kolkata.
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When Arshdeep Singh ran out Andre Russell off the penultimate ball, the topsy-turvy game was set for a dramatic finish, with a win for either side, as well as a Super Over, possible. Facing Rinku was Arshdeep, who had bowled two stump-shattering, last-over yorkers against Mumbai Indians earlier this month. This time, though, Arshdeep’s yorker did not land, and Rinku made the most of it.
A full toss came firing into his thigh pad, and Rinku – cool as ever – swatted it past the deep backward square leg fence to complete yet another last-ball finish this season. It only continued his exceptional late-overs form: his five sixes off five balls against Gujarat Titans remain one of the biggest highlights of IPL 2023 so far.
Before Rinku, though, it was Russell who kept KKR in the hunt, unleashing a brutal assault on Sam Curran to push the game towards the home side. Russell hit three sixes in a 20-run penultimate over to swing the game once again, leaving them with six to get off the final one. However, Arshdeep bowled brilliantly, giving away only four off the first four balls, and sending Russell back off the fifth.
With two needed off one, though, Rinku finished off in style.
The first innings had some late-order hitting too: Shahrukh Khan and Harpreet Brar took PBKS past 175 with a final-over assault on Harshit Rana.
IPL 2023, KKR v PBKS: Watch the highlights of the match and the last ball (15:33) here:
WHAT. A. FINISH! 👌 👌
It went right down to the final ball of the match! 👍 👍@rinkusingh235 & @KKRiders held their nerve & how to seal a win over the spirited @PunjabKingsIPL! 👏 👏
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/OaRtNpANNb #TATAIPL | #KKRvPBKS pic.twitter.com/9NZLfEzF0l
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 8, 2023