IPL 2023: Rinku Singh hits five sixes in the last over as Kolkata Knight Riders beat Gujarat Titans

By Ffion WynneBBC Sport
Kolkata Knight Riders players celebrate after beating Gujarat Titans
Kolkata Knight Riders' players celebrated on the pitch with Rinku Singh after his five sixes
Indian Premier League, Ahmedabad
Gujarat Titans 204-4 (20 overs): Shankar 63 (24); Narine 3-33
Kolkata Knight Riders 207-7 (20 overs): V Iyer 83 (40), R Singh 48* (21); Rashid 3-37
Kolkata Knight Riders won by three wickets
Scorecard.Table

Rinku Singh hit five sixes off the last five balls to lead Kolkata Knight Riders to a thrilling three-wicket win over Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League.

Chasing 205 and needing 29 from the last over, Rinku produced a brutal onslaught on bowler Yash Dayal.

The innings eclipsed spinner Rashid Khan's hat-trick in the 17th over that had Kolkata reeling at 155-7.

Rinku finished 48 not out as Kolkata won from the last ball.

The 29 scored from the last over set a new record for the most runs successfully chased in the final over of a T20, beating the 23 scored by Sydney Sixers against Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League in 2015.

The game was heading towards a comfortable victory for defending champions Gujarat, who dominated for large periods of the game.

Gujarat posted 204-4 as Vijay Shankar's 63 from 24 balls helped them score 51 from the final 15 balls.

In the chase, Venkatesh Iyer looked set on steering Kolkata over the line with a sublime 83 from 40 balls but was dismissed by Alzarri Joseph, whose 2-27 was crucial in swinging the momentum back in Gujarat's favour.

Iyer's dismissal left Kolkata 154-4, and they lost four wickets for one run when Rashid ripped through the middle order to remove Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Shardul Thakur.

With an improbable 39 required from nine balls, Rinku took 10 from the final two balls of the penultimate over, followed by Umesh Yadav taking a single from the first ball of the 20th to give Rinku the strike.

Dayal bowled a mixture of full tosses and short balls that Rinku pummelled into the stands, and he was embraced by his team-mates as Kolkata celebrated in front of a raucous crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

"I had belief that I could do it," said Rinku, who was named player of the match.

"I was not thinking a lot, just reacting to the ball that came. I was just trying to hit sixes and it came off in the end."

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