Rinku Singh’s spectacular performance in the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) second win of the season against Gujarat Titans has caught the eye of former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag. Singh’s five consecutive sixes in the last over of the match, securing the victory with 28 runs needed, broke the record for the highest number of runs scored in the final over of an Indian Premier League (IPL) match while chasing.
Sehwag, speaking to Cricbuzz, expressed his belief that Singh’s astonishing feat will likely never be replicated, not even by Singh himself. The former Indian opener also compared Singh’s influence on the KKR team to that of cricket legends MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar during their time with the national team.
Sehwag explained that when Dhoni was known for finishing off games, there was a strong belief in his abilities, just as there was with Tendulkar in the 90s. He stated that this same belief now surrounds Rinku Singh within the KKR team. Previously, the team had relied on Andre Russell for similar feats.
Despite the awe-inspiring accomplishment, Sehwag maintained that it was a one-time event for Rinku Singh. “This has never happened in the history of cricket, and Rinku Singh will never be able to do this again. This record that has happened, it might be broke, but Rinku will never in his life be able to hit six sixes and break that record,” he said.
Sehwag also acknowledged the role of luck in Singh’s historic moment, suggesting that the outcome would have been different if Alzarri Joseph had been bowling instead of Yash Dayal, whom Singh has faced countless times in the nets for the Uttar Pradesh domestic team. According to Sehwag, Rinku had the right mindset when facing Dayal, which contributed to his success.
In the following game, Rinku Singh scored an unbeaten half-century (58 off 31 deliveries) against Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, KKR fell short by 23 runs, allowing Sunrisers Hyderabad to secure their second consecutive win of the season.