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IPL 2023: Rinku Singh's five straight sixes in last over earn KKR stunning win
Kolkata Knight Riders needed 29 runs in the last over of the match to win against Gujarat Titans
Kolkata Knight Riders batter Rinku Singh hits a six during the match against Gujarat Titans. — PTI
Indian batsman Rinku Singh blasted five sixes on the final five balls as Kolkata Knight Riders chased down 205 to stun champions Gujarat Titans in an IPL thriller on Sunday.
The left-hander turned the chase on its head with an unbeaten 21-ball 48, after Kolkata slipped to 155-7 following Rashid Khan's hat-trick at the world's biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.
Kolkata needed 29 from the final over off Yash Dayal. Rinku took strike after Umesh Yadav's single on the first ball to send five hits over the fence and silence a raucous home crowd.
"I had belief that I can do this. Rana bhai (captain Nitish Rana) said to keep belief and to bat till the end, then we will see what happens," Singh after his astonishing knock.
"I was just trying to hit sixes. Umesh 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."
The chase was set up by a 40-ball 83 by impact player Venkatesh Iyer, who put on a 100-run third-wicket stand with skipper Nitish Rana, who made 45.
"Tonight was another example that we will never give up as a team," Iyer said after the three-wicket win. "The wicket was quite good to bat and I was just trying to execute my plans."
Iyer, who came on in place of Suyash Sharma under the new impact player rule, fell to Alzarri Joseph and Rashid soon took over to claim his first Indian Premier League hat-trick.
Rashid, a champion leg-spinner who now has four hat-tricks in T20 cricket, went for a celebratory sprint after sending back Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Shardul Thakur.
But little did Rashid know Rinku and Kolkata would have the last laugh.
"A tough game for us, especially as a captain," said Rashid, standing in as skipper for the unwell Hardik Pandya. "That is what T20 is all about, it is about entertainment."
It was a first defeat of the season for Gujarat, who won the league in their debut campaign last year.
Earlier Gujarat's Vijay Shankar smashed five sixes in his 24-ball 63 as Gujarat took 45 runs from the final two overs to reach 204-4.
Shankar stood out for Gujarat with his blitz and key partnerships including an unbeaten 51-run fifth-wicket stand with David Miller, who made two.
Brief scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders beats Gujarat Titans by three wickets.
Gujarat Titans 204/4 (Vijay Shankar 63*, Sai Sudharsan 53, Sunil Narine 4/33).
Kolkata Knight Riders: 207/7 (Venkatesh Iyer 83, Rinku Singh 48, Rashid Khan 3/37)
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