'Been a while that Hardik and Dhoni did that' - Abhishek Nayar's massive praise for Rinku Singh after his heroics in first T20I vs AUS

Rinku Singh once again put his excellent finishing skills on display as he guided India to a two-wicket win in the first T20I of the five-match series against Australia on Thursday, November 23 at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam. Chasing a massive target of 209, India suffered a collapse in the last three overs as they lost five wickets in a space of 13 balls.

However, Rinku kept his calm in the middle and took India home with his cameo of 22* off 14 balls. The 26-year-old has built a reputation for finishing matches for his side ever since his five-sixes assault on Yash Dayal in the IPL 2023. Following another magnificent finish by Rinku, former India cricketer Abhishek Nayar praised him for his maturity despite not having much experience at the international level

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"It’s the third time he has done this for India, the third time India needed him to do something special and he turned up. He hasn’t played international cricket for 5-7 years, but has the maturity and skillet of someone who has played that long," said Nayar on JioCinema.

Further speaking ahead, Nayar lauded him for taking up the finisher’s role after MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya and composure under pressure.

There’s no one, who has played the finisher’s role so well: Nayar

"It tells you that he has mastered the art of finishing an innings. It’s not easy and it’s been a while that Hardik and MS Dhoni did that for us, but post that, there’s no one, who has played the finisher’s role so well. It’s not just the runs he gets, but the way he gets them. There is a certain calm and composure about the way he’s playing his cricket," he added.

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Notably, in the three innings played in international cricket so far, Rinku has played crucial cameos of 38 (21), 37* (15) and 22* (14) and lived up to his reputation of being an excellent finisher. The Aligarh-born cricketer will be eager to continue his form in the remaining games of the series to make a strong case for his selection in the T20 World Cup 2024 squad.