GT vs KKR: Rinku Singh becomes KKR’s juggler by hitting 6,6,6,6,6, snatches victory from Gujarat’s jaws

With the help of five sixes in the last over of Rinku Singh, Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Gujarat Titans by three wickets. Earlier, Gujarat Titans captain Rashid Khan took the first hat-trick of the Indian Premier League IPL season 16. Rashid Khan returned the pavilion to all the three batsmen of Kolkata Knight Riders in three consecutive balls. Rashid Khan walked Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Shardul Thakur, who was the hero of KKR’s victory in the last match. This is Rashid Khan’s second hat-trick in IPL. At the same time, KKR has become the first team in IPL 16, which chased the target of 200 runs.

In the absence of regular captain Hardik Pandya, captain Rashid Khan won the toss and decided to bat first. Opening batsmen Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill got off to a brisk start, adding 33 runs in 4.2 overs. Sunil Narine gave the first blow to the team by dismissing Saha (17 runs). After this, Shubman Gill shared a 67-run partnership with number three batsman Sai Sudarshan and took the score beyond 100. Sunil became the second victim of Naren on Shubman Gill (39 runs). After this, Abhinav Manohar, who came to the crease, got out after scoring 14 runs.

Sai Sudarshan handled the innings along with Vijay Shankar, who came out to bat at number five. He played a half-century inning of 53 runs in 38 balls. Sai Sudarshan became the third victim of Sunil Narine in the score of 153 runs. After this, Vijay Shankar changed the gear and scored 63 runs in 24 balls with the help of four fours and five sixes. In 20 overs, the team scored 204 runs for four wickets. Kolkata Knight Riders had a target of 204 runs to win.

Captain Rashid, who came to cast his second spell, took the first hat-trick of IPL season 16 and the second of his IPL career. Rashid Khan bowled the first ball of the 16th over to Andre Russell. Andre Russell’s bat took an outside edge and was caught by wicket-keeper Shrikar Bharat. Russell took DRS but it went in vain. Sunil Narine, who came out to bat after Russell, could not understand Rashid Khan’s googly and caught Jayant Yadav standing at mid-wicket.

After the dismissal of Naren, Shardul Thakur, who was the hero of the last match, came out to bat. Rashid Khan bowled a googly outside the off side and the ball turned and hit Shardul’s pad straight. Umpire gave out LBW. Shardul Thakur took the review but that too went in vain. KKR’s seven wickets fell for 155 runs and still 49 runs were needed for victory. After this, Rinku Singh took the lead with Umesh Yadav and by the 19th over, the team’s score reached 176 runs.