Rinku Singh grows in stature, from IPL finisher to smart T20 batsman for India | Cricket News
The rise of Rinku Singh continues, adding more layers and hues on the way. From a staple rags-to-riches story and the plotter of one of the most thrilling climaxes in the Indian Premier League, he has emerged as a serious T20 batsman, relishing the complex challenges of batting at No.5 in the shortest format of the game, and taking giant strides towards making himself an undroppable in the eleven.Tuesday presented the sternest test yet in his career — the team losing wickets intermittently (India were 55/3), siner clouds rolling in the skies, seamers purchasing bounce and occasional sideways movement, spinners coaxing turn. The experience of 10 games seemed inadequate.
But Rinku showed he is made of sterner stuff, overcoming an early period of struggle to reger his highest T20I score yet in his blossoming international career, displaying not only big-hitting prowess but also his courage and composure, virtues that are as essential for a long and successful international career as technique and skills. Allied with the 36-ball 56 of skipper Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku’s unbeaten 68 off 39 was the turbo-charger of India’s 180 for 7 in 19.3 overs.
Most striking was his nonchalance, evident from the first ball that he fleeced down the ground for a four off speedster Gerald Coetzee. Followed a brief tentative spell, when the left-hander looked flustered and nervous. He stabbed fearfully with just his hands, the feet sunk in the crease, at Andile Phehlukwayo, after Tabriaz Shamsi had beaten him with his wrong’un, spinning viciously off the surface.
#AidenMarkram brought himself on in the penultimate over, and #RinkuSingh made him pay with back-to-back maximums 🔥
Rinku has brought his A-game to South Africa!
Tune-in to the 2nd #SAvIND T20ILIVE NOW | Star Sports Network#Cricket pic.twitter.com/HiibVjyuZH
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) December 12, 2023
Unable to decode the guileful left-arm wr-spinner, Rinku futilely unfurled the reverse-sweep. His captain would rush out for a piece of advice, which calmed Rinku. He thereafter stole singles, watching Surya speed off with his improvisational daring. He would utter gasps of admiration as Surya made a mockery of field settings and bowling plans, picking gaps to his whims.
But Rinku was careful to not get carried away, or attempt anything remotely Surya-like. Instead, his next four, 10 balls after the first, was bludgeoned through long-off. It was typical Rinku, opening out his front foot to create that power-hitting base, the bend of the knees to sustain the balance, and the crisp, strong bat-swing imparting power and timing. The left-arm angle into him from Marco Jansen too benefited him, as he did not have to reach out for the ball, which was over-pitched to further light up his eyes. It’s one of his percentage strokes, as Yash Dayal, whom he struck for five successive sixes in the last over of an IPL game to clinch a nail-biter, would swear too.
Versatile game
Here, though, presented an opportunity to project other dimensions of his game. Rinku merely ramped the next ball for another four, like a brush-stroke from an axe. He would soon be given out, leg before the wicket off Aiden Markram when attempting the reverse. But Rinku reviewed, requiring some coaxing from Surya, and found that he had gloved the ball. He celebrated the moment with three fours in Phehlukwayo’s next over. All those were gifts, two were on the leg-stump with fine-leg posted inside the ring, and the third outside leg. Rinku would move a trifle to the off-side, and nudged, guided and flayed the ball, in that order, to the fence. He would not have imagined that boundaries were so accessible in South Africa.
But for all the freebies South Africa’s suddenly sloppy bowlers fed him — Shamsi alone keeping him on a tight leash, Rinku had the sense of gap to fully utilise them. He read the bowlers’ mind too. He knew the medium pacers would overcompensate bowling wide. He was ready, and stopped clearing his front leg; instead went across so that he could access the space square on the off-side. He maneuvered Lizaad Williams twice behind point — the first a slap, and the next a steer. A draught Williams strayed onto his pads, and found the ball heaved past fine-leg. Two more singles and he wrapped up a fifty in crisis off only 30 balls, one that reinforced that Rinku is not merely a carefree striker of the ball, but one with the smarts and awareness, the judiciousness to sense and seize the moments of the game.
Often thrust into the role of the late-order, late-middle and death-overs destroyer, he stated that he has the game to deal with an early top-order wobble. It’s the earliest he had ever batted in seven outings, tasked to prevent a collapse without compromising on quick scoring. Rinku passed the test with flying colours.The departure of Surya, with the score on 125/3 in 13.5 overs, forced him to decelerate but he made up for the crawl with two successive sixes in typical Rinku fashion. Proteas skipper Aien Markram deciding to bowl the 19th over was always going to be risk-prone, and Rinku sashayed down the ground and flayed him down the ground into the stands. Remarkably, those were the first two sixes he struck on the night.
Before he began to rain more sixes, rain itself started to pour.But Rinku had already stolen the thunder with another step forward in his spectacular rise.
