NEW DELHI: After a thrilling victory, involving two super overs, in the third and final T20I against Afghanistan, Indian captain
Rohit Sharma
lavished praise on young devastating batsman
Rinku Singh
.
Rinku, whose rise from a humble background to superstardom has been an inspiration for many, once again became the talk of the town after he smashed an unbeaten 69 runs off just 39 balls, including six sky-rocketing maximums in the third T20I against Afghanistan.
Rinku, who grabbed eyeballs for towering five sixes in an over against Gujarat Titans in the 2023 season, is looking as a bright prospect for this year's T20 World Cup, to be hosted by the West Indies and the United States from June 4 to June 30.
His stellar performance drew accolades from various quarters, including captain Rohit and coach Rahul Dravid.
Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh make T20I history with record-breaking batting display
In the match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, Rohit achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first player to score five T20I centuries, scoring an unbeaten 121 runs off 69 balls. He combined forces with Rinku in a formidable 190-run partnership for the fifth wicket, propelling India to a mammoth 212/4.
Team India off-spinner
Ravichandran Ashwin
also lauded Rinku for his attacking batting style and termed him as a 'left-handed Dhoni'.
“He is somebody I’d call a left-handed Dhoni. I can’t compare him to Dhoni just yet because Dhoni is too big. But, I am talking about the composure that he brings. He has been consistently scoring buckets of runs for UP and broke his way into the Indian team. He was on the KKR bench for many years," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
"People used to tell me that, when he was at KKR, even though he couldn’t get the chance to bat at practice, he collected all the balls that batters hit in throwdowns and gave them back to the bowler,” Ashwin said.
“Since then, he has been with the franchise for so long, put in the hard work for UP, and showed that he’s always available to get to the Indian team out of a tricky situation or finish an innings. The composure doesn’t change whether the team is batting first or chasing. His composure towards the back end of the innings is a bonus,” he added.
In three matches against Afghanistan, Rinku scored 94 runs at a strike rate of 164.91.
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