Rinku Singh, who hit five sixes in the last five balls to give Kolkata Knight Riders a memorable victory in the Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 match on Sunday, dedicated each of his sixes to the family who fought for him.
Rinku comes from a very humble family of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. His father used to deliver gas cylinders to homes. To get the family out of debt burden, Rinku has also worked as a servant in the house to save the stipend he received as a player of the Uttar Pradesh Under-19 team.
He snatched victory from the jaws of Gujarat by hitting six sixes and a four in 21 balls. The 25-year-old had scored a blistering 40 off 15 balls last season as well but failed to score the 21 runs needed in the last over of the match against Lucknow Super Giants.
Rinku said after playing a memorable innings against Gujarat, “I was sure that I could do it. Last year I was in a similar situation in Lucknow. The faith was still there. I was not thinking much, just went on hitting shot after shot.
He said, “My father struggled a lot, I come from a farmer’s family. Every ball I hit out of the ground was dedicated to those people who sacrificed so much for me.
KKR captain Nitish Rana said, “Rinku did something similar last year, although we did not win that match. When he hit the second six against Gujarat, we started believing more because Yash Dayal was not doing well. All credit goes to Rinku Singh.
