- Rinku Singh’s sixes came as he got inside the line of the ball to send the ball over the ropes against South Africa in the second T20I.
Rinku Singh’s powerful six smashed the glass panel of the media box, which as per Steyn, could have some consequences.
It’s an another mark of Rinku Singh in Cricket world. from the time he grabbed the headline with those five straight sixes against Gujarat Titans in the IPL, has given a breath of fresh air to T20 batting. The left-hander middle-order batter has time and again shown that he is not averse to going for the big shots against big names. With the 2024 T20 World Cup just over six months away in June, Rinku Singh’s performance will be closely monitored. And with the perilous form that Rinku Singh is in, the Indian cricket team management would be mighty happy.
The legend of Rinku Singh grows. The India middle-order batter played another innings of note when he smashed an unbeaten 68 off 39 balls against South Africa in the 2nd T20I. This was Rinku’s maiden T20I fifty, to go with scores of 46, 31*, 22*, 37* and 38* since his India debut back in August. Rinku’s muscle and six-hitting prowess has already earned him the tag of being the next big finisher for India, but on Tuesday evening, the left-handed batter showed the world that he is more than just an explosive option in death overs.
Walking out to bat in the sixth over at the fall of Tilak Varma’s wicket. Rinku got going in the first ball itself, bringing out a straight drive for four, but as Suryakumar Yadav found his range, settled down. For the next four overs, Rinku was quiet before beginning to flex his muscles in the 11th over with back-to-back boundaries off Marco Jansen. Three overs later, is when Rinku unleashed beast mode. With three fours of the 13th over bowled by Andile Phehlukwayo and another three off Lizaad Williams, Rinku completed his fifty off 30 balls.
Rinku switched gears again to play out the next four overs boundary less, but when only two were left, he went berserk. With consecutive sixes off Aiden Markram, not only did Rinku take India to 180 but in the process damaged the glass panel of the media box at St. George’s Park in Gqeberha. The first six was typical Rinku, the bat swinging in full flow as the ball sailed over cow corner. The second blow however was a lot straighter and dealt a huge crack on the glass. As it turned out, it marked the last scoring shot for Rinku with rain bringing the Indian innings to an end at 180/7.
As play was interrupted, the broadcaster said, “Take a look at that six, but it has proved to be costly. It broke a glass in the media box. We have a picture of it. That is what it has resulted in,” to which South Africa great Dale Steyn added, “Yes, and someone in the eastern bay of Gqeberha won’t be too happy with Rinku Singh breaking one of their windows.
Watch the six that damaged the glass panel:
“Wonderful shots. The off-spinners are kind of difficult to get a hold of. Aiden Markram saw a gap for himself there. He had picked up a wicket so maybe he thought ‘let me squeeze another one here or slip in a quick over, but Rinku had a different idea. Managed to come down the wicket, get to the pitch of that delivery and just break a window in the process. Nonetheless it was a great shot.”
Rinku’s effort went in vain however as South Africa chased down their revised target of 152 in 15 overs in super quick time to take a 1-0 lead in the series, but Rinku once again emerged as the biggest takeaway for India. Rinku’s temperament-filled knock impressed Steyn to an extent that he admitted to have spotted traits of his former teammate and a South African legend in the India youngster’s ‘mature’ batting.
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