Although Rinku Singh scored 22 runs off 14 balls against Australia, his finishing role led to his comparison with MS Dhoni and Hatdik Pandya. Chasing 209 runs, the host team lost the advantage after Suryakumar Yadav’s dismissal in the death overs.
Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi and Arshdeep Singh failed to hold up one end. Rinku didn’t lose concentration and guided India to a 2-wicket triumph to go 1-0 up in the five-match T20I series.
Former India player Abhishek Nayar, who has worked with Rinku in the Kolkata Knight Riders’ camp, heaped massive praise on the left-handed batter.
“MS Dhoni played the finisher’s role for years. Hardik Pandya is doing it at the moment. We have Rinku Singh, who has similar qualities. He scored 22 runs but look at the value of those runs. He will not be able to win games everytime but a player like him is important,” he said on Sports18.
Suryakumar, who is the stand-in captain for the series, smashed 80 runs off 42 balls. He was named the Player of the Match.
Ishan Kishan also contributed with the bat. His 58 runs came off 39 deliveries.
Josh Inglis (110) and Steve Smith (52) took the Aussies to 208/3.