How Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh Kept Their Cool To Beat Chennai Super Kings At Chepauk

Kolkata Knight Riders middle-order batter Rinku Singh revealed that his discussion with captain Nitish Rana was about hitting only loose deliveries during their match-winning fourth-wicket partnership against Chennai Super Kings.

At the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday, Chennai had a chance to seal their place in the Playoffs at home as Deepak Chahar took three wickets in power-play. But Rana and Singh had other ideas by stitching a 99-run partnership off 76 balls for the fourth wicket to take Kolkata home in a chase of 145 with nine balls to spare.

"When I walked into the middle, there was enough pressure as we were three down (in Power-play). I bat at No.5 or 6 and I have been doing it for quite some time in domestic and in IPL now." (Watch: Kohli Takes Cheeky Dig At RR After Thumping Win, Says, 'They Would've Been All Out For 40...,')

"I discussed with Rana bhai (Nitish Rana) that we will only hit loose balls. We also agreed that we will respect their great bowlers as well and hit on the loose balls only," said Rinku to teammate Shardul Thakur in a video posted by IPL on their Twitter account on Monday.

Nitish Rana describes Rinku Singh's beautiful journey.

From 'Russell Russell' to 'Rinku Rinku'. pic.twitter.com/emZlTaubge

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 8, 2023

While Rana was unbeaten on 57 off 44 balls, Rinku was impressive in scoring 54 off 43 balls as the duo also achieved the distinction of stitching the highest-ever stand for the fourth wicket partnership against Chennai at Chepauk.

"It`s okay (on being run out and not being able to finish the game). We got two points and won the game- that`s more important (than finishing the game)," said Rinku on being asked if he had some sadness over not finishing the match.

With the ball, Thakur took out in-form opener Devon Conway in his spell of 1/15 in three overs. Asked by Rinku about his mindset while preparing to bowl, Thakur said, "I had very severe cramps as I was running a lot and had to back up for the deliveries too. It was sweating a lot and had literally no energy."

"I was literally exhausted but since we needed two points and I have had enough experience of playing here on the pitch and venue, I used that to decide which balls to be bowled and not bowled."

The win also means that Kolkata are still alive in the race to playoffs, and will now face Lucknow Super Giants in an evening match on May 20 at the Eden Gardens.