On Thursday, India took on Australia in the first T20I of their five-match bilateral series in Visakhapatnam.
Batting first, Australia scored 208/3 thanks to a magnificent century from Josh Inglis (110). In reply, the home side looked in trouble at 22/2 before Ishan Kishan and captain Suryakumar Yadav put on 112 for the third wicket.
India's number six batter Rinku Singh walked to the crease with 55 runs still needed off 31 balls. He ended the match not out on 22 from 14, hitting the final delivery for six with one run required. The KKR star has made a name for himself as a finisher of late, both for his IPL team and the national side.
MORE: Why will Rinku Singh's six off last ball not count?
'He is a small-town boy like Dhoni' - K Srikkanth hails Rinku Singh's street smarts, draws comparisons with Captain Cool
On Friday, 1983-World Cup winner Krishnamachari Srikkanth took to his YouTube channel to speak about the match, and reserved special praise for the southpaw. He said,
He [Rinku Singh] is a small town boy. These small-town boys are very street smart. You said, Ranchi. MS Dhoni is a small-town boy from Ranchi. They are all street smart. Rinku is from a small town in UP [Aligarh]. They are survivors, don't forget. See where he started and where he is now. So that is why he's very smart.
In his international career so far, Rinku has played just three innings, but has remained not out in two of them; yesterday's knock, as well as a 37* off 15 balls against Nepal in the Asian Games.
MORE: Have India unearthed a new finisher in Rinku Singh?
In the 2023 IPL, 305 of his tally of 474 runs came while chasing. He was dismissed only 2 out of 7 times batting second, averaging 152 runs per dismissal, compared to 28 batting first. His most memorable innings came when he hit Gujarat Titans' Yash Dayal for five consecutive sixes in the last over of a chase to win the match for KKR.
When is Team India's next match?
India will play Australia next in the 2nd T20I of the bilateral series on 26 November in Thiruvananthapuram.
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