‘Tried to motivate him a little’ - Rinku Singh's heart-warming message for Yash Dayal following his batting heroics

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) clinched their second win in the IPL 2023 season, following a mind-boggling performance from Rinku Singh in the final over against Gujarat Titans. Following the impressive knock in the final over, Rinku shared his heart-rendering message for Yash Dayal. Notably, the defending champions hosted KKR at the Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, on Sunday, April 9, in the second doubleheader.

At one stage, KKR were looking good in the run chase until the 16th over. They were inching closer to the target with five wickets in hand and with the score reading 155/5 on the board. Thereafter, in what turned out to be a humdinger, interim Titans skipper, Rashid Khan, took matters into his hand when he took a hat-trick to derail the Knight Riders totally.

KKR required 29 runs off the final over against Khan’s Titans and Rinku Singh was up against a young and under-pressure bowler, Yash Dayal. Despite the odds stacked against KKR, Rinku scripted history as he hammered five consecutive sixes to win the game for his side. Following the unbelievable innings, Rinku also shared his message for Yash who tried hard to defend the total in the final over.

"I texted Yash after the game, saying it happens in cricket, you did really well last year, I just tried to motivate him a little,” Rinku was quoted as saying by India today.

Keep the belief, Stay till the end: Nitish Rana 

It is worth mentioning that, Rinku was eight runs off 14 balls in the penultimate over of the contest. The Uttar Pradesh-born batter revealed that skipper Nitish Rana had backed him till the very end which paid rich dividends in the thrilling clash. Impressively enough, in the next seven deliveries, he clobbered 40 runs (6,4,6,6,6,6,6) to help his side clinch their second straight win of the game. In doing so, KKR handed GT their first loss of the season.

"‘Belief rakhiyo, Aakhri tak kheliyo’ (keep the belief, stay till the end),” Rana’s pearls of advice for Rinku.

The 25-year-old’s miraculous innings have taken the cricketing fraternity by storm and Rinku will look to continue his fine run in the competition. Nitish Rana and Co. will now host Sunrisers Hyderabad in their forthcoming match at the iconic Eden Gardens on Friday, April 14. Knight Riders will be on the hunt to add two more points. KKR currently stand second in the IPL points table with four points and a healthy Net Run Rate (NRR) of 1.375.