Kolkata Knight Riders beat Gujarat Titans by 3 wickets in one of the most tight finishes in the history of the Indian Premier League. The match will be remembered for KKR batter Rinku Singh (48*) scoring most runs in the last over of a successful run-chase in an IPL match.
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Chasing a 205-run target, Kolkata scored as many as 29 runs in the last over to turn the tables in IPL 2023 Match 14 at the Narendra Modi Stadium today. The development also powered them to register their second-highest successful run-chase.
With opening batters Rahmanullah Gurbaz (15) and Narayan Jagadeesan (6) getting out inside the powerplay, Impact Player Venkatesh Iyer (83) and captain Nitish Rana (45) stitched an archetype rescue act on the back of 55-ball 100-run third-wicket partnership.
SUPER STAR RINKU SINGH ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ @KKRiders 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 9, 2023
While Iyer hit eight fours and five sixes at a strike rate of 207.50, Rana hit four fours and three sixes at 155.17 to keep Knight Riders in the contest in the middle overs.
KKR Man of the Match Today
Taking into consideration the above mentioned feats achieved by KKR, it would have been unfair to not hand the Player of the Match award to Singh in spite of him not completing a cricketing milestone such as a half-century.
Had Singh not hit a total of five sixes in the last over bowled by GT pacer Yash Dayal, Iyer would’ve easily bagged the match award but not on Sunday.
“I had belief that I can do this. [Nitish] Rana bhai said to keep belief and to bat till the end, then we will see what happens. [Umesh Yadav] Bhaiya was asking me not to think much and just play the ball. I was not thinking a lot. Was just reacting to the ball. It kept coming out of the middle, I had belief and it came off in the end,” Singh told Star Sports Network during the post-match presentation ceremony.