Rinku Singh may have hurt himself while trying to keep his club in the running for the IPL 2025 playoffs, but he was instrumental in the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) last-ball victory over the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Eden Gardens.
As KKR took 22 off the last over of their innings to post a total of 206 for 4, he initially scored an undefeated 19 off 6 balls. Rinku then made two crucial saves when RR needed 22 off the final six balls in the chase. He was observed limping while gripping the area close to his right groin after running to his right at deep cover and diving full length to deny Jofra Archer a boundary off the first ball of the 20th over.
Shubham Dubey pulled a yorker from Vaibhav Arora in the direction of mid-off with RR needing three runs off the final ball, two of which would force a Super Over. To win by one run, Rinku raced in from his position on the long-off boundary, picked up the ball, and tossed it to Arora, who ran out the diving Archer.
Just before that ball, captain Ajinkya Rahane moved Rinku from his original long-on position to long-off.
“[The diving effort on 19.1] was very important because everyone in India knows that the outfield here is very fast,” Rinku said to the broadcaster following the game. “You must therefore respond appropriately. After the powerplay, I field outside the 30-yard circle once the field constraints are removed. I have a lot of fun fielding. Furthermore, I prefer fielding to batting, to be honest.
Ambati Rayudu, an ESPNcricinfo TimeOut expert, praised Rinku’s ability to pick up the ball and claimed he always had his eyes on it: “That was a great pick-up.” His eyes were fixed on the ball even though it swayed in front of his palms. Thus, it was an excellent pick-up.
In order to have a genuine chance of qualifying for the playoffs, KKR must win every game, therefore they played excellent fielding while defending 206. Despite having stitches in the webbing of his badly bandaged right hand, Rahane rushed backward from midwicket and made a diving catch to dismiss Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the opening over of RR’s chase.
He declared, “Fielding is the factor where you can control as a unit,” following KKR’s ascent to sixth place in the standings. “It’s a plus if you can save ten or twelve runs in the field. We made the decision to give it our all on the pitch since bowlers are still performing their duties. It all comes down to making one or two outstanding catches, stopping a few runs, and ultimately making the difference.
The next game for KKR is against the Chennai Super Kings at home on Wednesday.
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