Johannesburg [South Africa], January 20 : Legendary South African batter AB de Villiers said on Saturday that young Indian middle-order batter Rinku Singh is a match-winner and his consistency is needed to win the games.
Rinku has gathered a lot of acclaim for his role as a finisher in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and India.
Talking about Rinku on his Youtube Channel, AB said, "Rinku is a fantastic player, a match-winner, and it is good to see him become consistent as well. You need to be a consistent player who is always trying to win games for your team."
Across 15 games and 11 innings in T20Is for India, Rinku has scored 356 runs at an average of 89.00 and a strike rate of over 176 with two half-centuries. He has been making a name for himself as a finisher for Men in Blue.
Talking about the third T20I between India and Afghanistan, which saw two Super Overs happening after the match ended in a tie, AB said that one cannot bat again if they is declared out in the first Super Over. Then he said that Rohit Sharma, who left the crease on the final ball of the first over to bring in Rinku, would claim that he was retired hurt.
"Double Super Over unbelievable (smiles). You can't bat again if you are declared out in the first super over. I think maybe they will claim that he was retired hurt due to an injury and maybe it was a scoring mistake to show him out," he said.
Coming to the match, India opted to bat first and was reduced to 22/4. Following this, Rohit (121* in 69 balls with 11 fours and eight sixes) and Rinku (69* in 39 balls, with two fours and six sixes) took India to 212/4 in 20 overs.
Fareed Ahmed (3/20) was the best bowler for Afghanistan.
In the run chase, Gurbaz (50 in 32 balls with three fours and four sixes) and Zadran (50 in 41 balls, with four boundaries and a six) gave Afghanistan a fine start with a 93-run opening stand.
Then, Naib (55* in 23 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) joined forces with Mohammed Nabi (34 in 16 balls, with two fours and three sixes) to help Afghanistan tie the match.
Washington Sundar (3/18) was India's top bowler.
The first Super Over ended in a tie, with both sides scoring 16 runs each. A notable moment in the game saw Rohit walking away retired hurt and having Rinku walk on the crease to be with Yashasvi Jaiswal at the final ball, needing two runs. Only one run could be made.
In the second super over, Rohit hit a four and six but India lost both their wickets with a ball to go, giving Afghanistan 12 runs to make. But Ravi Bishnoi delivering this Super Over got Nabi and Gurbaz within the first three balls, with just one run on the board.
India won the match and series 3-0.
Rohit walked away with the 'Player of the Match' award while Shivam Dube (124 runs with two fifties and two wickets) got the Player of the Series' honour.
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