Rinku Singh was once again the centre of attention in IPL 2023. He flicked Arshdeep Singh’s full toss to deep backward square region for a boundary in the 53rd match of the season, giving KKR a thrilling victory.
Rinku has done for KKR what he is renowned to do for his home side UP: he has saved them whenever they are in trouble.
He has been a highly effective problem solver for Kolkata Knight Riders. This season Rinku has consistently delivered important innings for his team.
With Andre Russell unable to recreate his previous performances of 2-3 years ago, KKR was in desperate need of a player who could smash boundaries at will.
Rinku, along with Jitesh Sharma and Dhruv Jurel, is currently among the top boundary hitters, with a 3.35 balls-per-boundary ratio and a 29.8 dot ball %.
It was unavoidable that he would be compared to previous KKR finisher Yusuf Pathan. The former KKR and India player was known for his bit-hitting ability, which frequently provided his side with the vital push in the last overs.
So, with Rinku emerging as a probable Yusuf successor, let’s look at some of the latter’s IPL records that the former may shatter.
3) Most half-centuries in less than 25 balls
Yusuf Pathan scored four IPL fifties in less than 25 deliveries. He ranks third on the list, with KL Rahul and Chris Gayle.
AB de Villiers and Virender Sehwag lead the list of batters with an IPL fifty in less than 25 balls, with six each.
With his boundary-hitting ability, Rinku Singh has the potential to surpass Pathan.
2) Highest strike rate for a 50+ score in the IPL
Yusuf Pathan’s match-winning innings of 72 off 22 deliveries (SR of 327.27) against Sunrisers Hyderabad placed him third on the record of the highest strike-rate in an innings of 50 or more runs. Pat Cummins, 56* (15) vs. MI (SR: 373.33, 2022); and Suresh Raina, 87 (25) vs. PBKS (SR: 348.00, 2014) are ahead of him.
Rinku, who blasted Yash Dayal for five consecutive sixes in the final over of a match, has undoubtedly demonstrated the capacity of achieving such dizzying strike-rates. It won’t be surprising if he surpass not only Yusuf but the other two as well.
1) Most runs in an IPL season at a 170+ strike rate
Yusuf Pathan made his IPL debut for the Rajasthan Royals and made a big impact. He scored 435 runs with a fantastic SR of 179.01. Mind you, he was typically batting at 5/6 and faced hardly 10-12 deliveries each match on average.
The same can be said about Rinku, who has already hit 337 runs at an SR of 151.07 this season while batting at 5/6 and even 7 on occasion.
With age on his side, Rinku has a chance to beat Yusuf Pathan’s record, which is now held by Rishabh Pant. In the 2018 IPL, the keeper-batsman scored 684 runs at an strike rate of 173.60.