Rinku Singh
has built a reputation of being a finisher in his short international career with his flamboyant strokeplay in white-ball cricket. On Friday, donning the white flannel, the southpaw showed that he can adapt to the demands of red-ball cricket by slamming a measured unbeaten half-century to bail Uttar Pradesh out of a crisis in the
Ranji Trophy
opener against Kerala at SD College ground, Alappuzha.
Rinku's unbeaten 71 (103 balls, 7x4, 2x6) and his unbroken century stand for the fifth wicket with
Dhruv Jurel
helped the visitors recover from 124 for four to 244 for four at stumps on a truncated day's play. Dhruv, Rajasthan Royals's finisher in the previous edition of IPL, took a leaf out of Rinku's book and complimented his senior partner with a composed knock off 54 (100 balls, 4x4, 1x6).
However, the opening day's play began promisingly for Kerala after the match got off to a delayed start due to bad light and wet outfield. UP skipper Aryan Juyal won the toss and in a bold move opted to bat.
It didn't take Kerala long to draw first blood as he trapped opener Samrat Singh (10) in front of the wicket with a delivery that kept low.
Skipper Juyal (28) and
Priyam Garg
(44) were associated in a 58-run stand for the second wicket before the two departed in successive overs to Vaisakh Chandran and Basil Thampi respectively.
Sameer Rizvi showed glimpses of his big-hitting prowess by smashing two sixes and two fours in his quickfire 26 off just 18 balls. But he attempted one shot too many and was caught in the deep by Kerala skipper Sanju Samson off Shreyas Gopal. But that was the last moment of cheer for the hosts as Rinku and Dhruv defied the Kerala attack for the rest of the day.
Brief scores: UP 244/4 in 64 overs (Rinku Singh 71*, Dhruv Jurel 54, Shreyas Gopal 1/33) vs Kerala
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