Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) registered a thrilling last-ball victory against the defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. With 29 runs needed off the last over, Umesh Yadav took a single on the first ball. After that, Rinku Singh smashed five consecutive sixes as KKR won by 3 wickets from the jaws of defeat.
After the match, KKR skipper Nitish Rana was seen sharing the winning moments with Rinku. In a video posted by a fan on social media, Rana was seen lifting the 25-year-old and appreciating him for a match-winning knock. KKR registered their second victory in IPL 2023 after losing their first game to Punjab Kings.
Watch the video here:
Video of the day – The celebrations of Rinku Singh and Nitish Rana.
Rinku Singh – The Superstar! pic.twitter.com/2ep3IZIyVm
— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) April 9, 2023
Batting first, GT posted 204 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. The home team first lost the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha in 4.2 overs at 33 runs. After that, Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan added 67 runs for the second wicket. Gill got out after scoring 39 off 31 balls with five boundaries. While Sudharson went on to score his second consecutive half-century of the season. The 21-year-old got out after a well-made 53 runs off 38 balls hitting three fours and two sixes.
After Sudharsan’s wicket, Vijay Shankar took charge of GT’s innings and remained unbeaten by smashing 63 runs off just 24 deliveries with four fours, and five sixes. For KKR, Sunil Narine scalped 3 wickets, while Suyash Sharma put 1 in his bag.
Rashid Khan’s hattrick went in vain
Chasing the winning total, KKR didn’t get a great start as they 2 wickets for 28 runs in four overs. After that, Venkatesh Iyer took charge of the innings and put up a 100-run partnership with Nitish Rana. Rana got out after scoring 45 runs off 29 balls. While Iyer smashed 83 runs off 40 balls before getting out in the fifth ball of the 16th over by Alzarri Joseph.
After that, GT’s stand-in skipper Rashid Khan took the winning chances away from KKR by taking a hat trick in the 17th over. The leg spinner dismissed Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Shardul Thakur consecutively as KKR were reduced at 155 for 7. The match went down to the last over with 29 runs needed to win. KKR chased the winning total as Rinku remained unbeaten on 48 runs off 21 balls hitting one four and six sixes, out of which five came in the last over.
