In a thrilling encounter , the Kolkata Knight Riders pulled off an unbelievable victory over the Gujarat Titans, thanks to an outstanding innings by Rinku Singh.
The Titans won the toss and elected to bat first. Wriddhiman Saha and Vijay Shankar opened the innings for the Titans, but they struggled to score runs in the powerplay. Shubman Gill, who was captaining the Knight Riders in the absence of Eoin Morgan, brought on spin early on, and it paid off as Sunil Narine got the breakthrough in his first over, dismissing Saha for 17 runs. Narine continued to cause problems for the Titans, picking up three wickets and conceding just 33 runs in his four overs.
The Titans had a mini-collapse, losing three wickets in quick succession, but they managed to recover through a solid partnership between Vijay Shankar and Rassie van der Dussen. They put up a 92-run stand, which helped the Titans post a competitive total of 204 for 4 in their allotted 20 overs.
In response, the Knight Riders started their innings on a shaky note, losing both their openers in the powerplay. Shami and Josh Little, who came in as an impact substitute for B Sai Sudharsan, removed Rahmanullah Gurbaz and N Jagadeesan inside four overs with just 28 runs on the board.
However, the Knight Riders had a ray of hope in their captain Nitish Rana, who started to attack the Titans’ bowling with some big hits. Rana was well supported by the young sensation Venkatesh Iyer, who continued his impressive form in this IPL season. Iyer scored a magnificent 83, which included seven fours and five sixes. Their partnership of 100 runs kept the Knight Riders in the game, and it seemed like they would cruise to victory.
But the Titans made a remarkable comeback in the game, thanks to some brilliant bowling from Alzarri Joseph and Rashid Khan. Joseph picked up the wickets of both Rana and Iyer, while Rashid Khan picked up a hat-trick in the 18th over, which included the wicket of the dangerous Andre Russell.
With 50 runs needed from the last four overs, it looked like the Titans would emerge victorious. But then Rinku Singh stepped up to the plate. When Knight Riders needed 39 runs off the last eight balls, Rinku was on 8 runs off 14 balls. However, he had other ideas. He hit the last two balls of the 19th over, bowled by Josh Little, for a six and a four.
With 29 runs needed from the last over, Rinku Singh took the attack to Yash Dayal, hitting him for six sixes in a row to seal an improbable win for the Knight Riders. The scenes that followed were nothing short of euphoric, with Rinku Singh being mobbed by his teammates in celebration.
In conclusion, it was an incredible game of cricket, and Rinku Singh’s heroics in the last over will go down in history as one of the greatest moments in IPL. The Kolkata Knight Riders will be delighted with the win, and the Gujarat Titans will be left to rue what could have been.