The Lucknow Super Giants are on the quest for their third win in the season, and the last time they had won a match before the four consecutive losses was back when they clashed against KKR at the Eden Gardens. Ajinkya Rahane was elated after KKR’s win against LSG.
Coming into the Ekana, Kolkata Knight Riders had a team with their morale boosted as Ajinkya Rahane’s side had earned a convincing victory over the Rajasthan Royals, when their bowlers dominated on a comparatively slower pitch, and Rinku Singh and Anukul Roy’s promising seventh-wicket partnership helped them complete their first chase of the season.
On the other hand, the Lucknow Super Giants have struggled to win games at their own home ground this season and have faced four consecutive defeats in the season. In order to bounce back, they, much like KKR, also need to win at least five of their next games, while winning six might add to their chance to finish in the top 4 positions.
Rinku Singh propels KKR to a promising finish as they put on a fighting total
Yet another day and yet another batting collapse for the Kolkata Knight Riders. Coming out to bat first after Rishabh Pant managed to win the toss and opted to bowl first. With Ajinkya Rahane and Tim Seifert dismissed early by Mohsin Khan, they looked to bounce back. Ajinkya Rahane scored 10 runs and struggled in the match.
However, Angkrish Raghuvanshi was dismissed most unconventionally, leading to another pause in the game, as he remained their most in-form batter. Cameron Green and Rinku Singh were looking to build a partnership, but wickets kept falling from the other end.
Rinku Singh single-handedly took the KKR innings off to a respectable 155 by the end of those 20 overs as he finished on 83* off just 51 balls with seven fours and five sixes while striking at over 160.
Rinku Singh’s excellent effort on the field pushes the game over to the Super Overs
While at one stage it looked like a timid total to defend, the LSG batters made it easy for the KKR bowlers after one stage. After the first 10 overs, despite having lost just one wicket, Rishabh Pant and Aiden Markram managed to take the score to 63 runs.
With nearly 93 runs needed to be scored at a net run rate of 9.30 for the final 10 overs, the match went on getting more difficult with the fall of wickets. Once again, Rinku Singh turned the game with the dismissal of Aiden Markram as he completed a stunning catch near the fence.
Wickets kept falling as every bowler introduced into the attack kept picking wickets. Rinku took four catches during the innings, also including the dismissal of Himmat Singh in the final over off Kartik Tyagi’s bowling. Tyagi bowled two no-balls in the final over. While needing seven runs off the final over, the game slipped into a super-over after Mohammed Shami smacked one out of the park.
The Super over was leading to a stunning effort from Sunil Narine, who dismissed Pooran and Markram off their first deliveries, thus ending their Super over within three balls. Rinku finished the game with a boundary as KKR needed 2 runs to win the match.
Really happy with the victory – Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane, after KKR’s win, “Settled. Really happy with the victory. The way we played after the 16 overs, Rinku’s innings was amazing. That last over and getting the momentum to our side was amazing,” Rahane looked elated at avenging the win from the Eden Gardens.
“We played SMAT here, and the soil was similarly, we thought 160-170 would be a good total. But the kind of bowling we did was amazing. It was about having that belief; one wicket here and there and the opposition is back in the game. We were really confident about our spinners. We knew one wicket would change the game for us.”
Ajinkya Rahane further stated, “No, not really. Sunil Narine was the option, and hitting spinners to the long boundary was not easy. Tyagi has been really good, Vaibhav as well… All these Indian guys are doing well. But let’s not take credit away from Rinku Singh.”
“You have to be in the moment; using the longer boundary is something we spoke about and guys have been practicing. You have to be clear as a bowler,” Ajinkya Rahane credited his bowlers and Rinku Singh for their recent winning streak.
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