Rashid Khan celebrates his hat-trick against KKR during the IPL 2023 clash (Sportzpix)
Rashid Khan dismissed Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Shardul Thakur to take his first hat-trick of IPL 2023 but Rinku Singh’s five sixes won the match for KKR
Rashid Khan took the first hat-trick of IPL 2023 But little did he know that it was not his incredible bowling that would make headlines, rather it was Rinku Singh’s five consecutive sixes that turned the tide of the match and sealed a thrilling three-wicket win for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Gujarat Titans were on the backseat until their skipper turned the contest on its head as he tore apart the Kolkata Knight Riders batting line-up by dismissing the likes of Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Shardul Thakur.
Venkatesh Iyer’s half-century and KKR captain Nitish Rana’s 45-run knock kept his side in the contest, but after Iyer’s departure, his brilliant 83-run knock was brought to an abrupt end by Alzarri Joseph.
The two-time IPL champions were still a ways away from the required target of 205 runs, however there was still hope in the hearts of KKR fans as their charismatic all-rounder Russell came onto the pitch, however, he fell victim first to Rashid, and then Narine Gujarat. Titans’ stand-in captain K Shardul was in the departure line before completing his hat-trick.
While Narine and Russell appeared to struggle, Thakur had only scored a quick fifty in KKR’s previous match and was in good form, however, he could not read Khan’s swinging delivery and was given out lbw.
Watch Rashid Khan take the first hat-trick of IPL 2023:
The mood instantly changed in both the camps as Gujarat Titans cruised towards another clinical win, but Rinku Singh had other ideas.
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Rinku Singh and Umesh Yadav were in the middle order and KKR needed 29 runs from 6 balls to win.
Yadav started Yash Dayal’s over with a single, giving the strike to Rinku who needed to score 28 runs in five balls.
He scored 30 runs, hit five consecutive sixes and took Kolkata Knight Riders from despair to joy. The 25-year-old won the player of the match award for his heroics.
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Even then Afghanistan The spin-magician praised Rinku for his brilliant display of grit, determination and perseverance.
“Rinku played unbelievable shots and credit goes to him for the way he played and the way he finished. Keep it simple, hit the right areas consistently and that’s what T20 is all about,” Rashid said in his post-match interview.
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