Rinku hits five final-over sixes as KKR defy Rashid final-over and Titans in incredible finish

SportsMax-RinkuSingh hit five successive sixes in thefinaloverofaremarkable IndianPremierLeaguegame toliftKolkataKnightRiders to victory over Gujarat Titans.

The heroics came after a stunning hat-trick from Rashid Khan gave Gujarat command as they attempted todefend204-4.

Rashid’s dismissals of Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Shardul Thakur seemingly left KKR’s innings in tatters, and they needed 29 from the last six balls.

UmeshYadavhitasingle off the first ball of the over, putting Rinku on strike and setting the stage for him to lift the Knight Riders to an incredible three-wicket win by bludgeoning Yash Dayal in a sensational display of batting that will live long in thememory

A half-century from Sai Sudharsan (53) and Vijay Shankar’s unbeaten 63 saw Gujaratsetatestingtarget.

Venkatesh Iyer then playedtheleadroleformuch of the chase, with his 83 helpingKKRto154-3inthe 16thover

Buthewascaughtatlong on,offthebowlingofAlzarri Joseph, and Rashid ripped throughthemiddleorderina magnificent17thover

Rinku was the pillar of the middle order that remained,andhegaveKKR a glimmer of hope with 10 runsfromthefinaltwoballs ofthepenultimateover

The target still looked likelytobebeyondKKR,but Rinkusnatchedvictoryfrom the jaws of defeat in a spectacular finale, completing an astonishing turnaround by pummelling Dayaloverlongon.

Rashidhat-trickinvain

Gujarat’s loss was their first in the opening three games of the season, but Rashid could hardly have donemoretoaidtheircause.

He had Russell caught behindfromagooglybefore Narine hit out to deep midwicket,withRashidthen returning to the googly to complete his hat-trick by trappingThakurlbw.

Rinkutotherescue

Rinku was the hero for KKR, but he got a big assist from Dayal with some below-pardeathbowling. His full toss-laden final over got the treatment it deserved from Rinku, who hammered maximums over long off, deep backward square leg, and his final two over long on as he finished offanhistoricrescueact.

Rinku’s 30 runs is the mostbyanybatterinthe20th overofanIPLgameinarun chase, while his five sixes over the ropes saw him tie RavindraJadejaforthemost in the final over of any IPL innings.

Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 207 for 7 (Venkatesh 83, Rinku 48*, Rana 45, Rashid 3-37, Joseph 2-28) beatGujaratTitans204for4 (Vijay 63*, Sai Sudharsan 53, Narine 3-33) by three wickets.