Rinku Singh once again shone at the bat for India, this time on Wednesday, January 17, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru during the third and final Twenty20 International match against Afghanistan.
With a strike rate of 176.92, the left-handed batsman hammered 69 runs off 39 balls, including two boundaries and six maximums. In the 20th over against Karim Janat, he hit three straight sixes to help India reach a goal of more over two hundred.
The youthful player joined India skipper Rohit Sharma in an undefeated stand of 190 runs when the hosts were reeling at 22/4. Rinku scored his second half-century for the Blueshirts.
Rinku had earlier made a clean sweep of the first two Twenty20 Internationals against Afghanistan, scoring 16 and 9. In the inaugural Twenty20 International, he helped India out of a similar predicament by hitting his maiden fifty in South Africa, when he scored an undefeated 68 off 39 balls. During the home T20I series against Australia, the 26-year-old scored 105 runs in four innings.
Rinku Singh received acclaim from X (previously Twitter) users for yet another rescue attempt on the Men in Blue. Someone posted this:
“Finishing likes me… I can’t avoid.”
Here are some more reactions:
Rohit Sharma’s record ton and Rinku Singh’s 69* power India to 212/4 vs Afghanistan
Rohit Sharma and Rinku Singh displayed a commanding run in their 20 overs against Afghanistan, helping India score a strong 212/4. Rohit was a powerhouse; he scored a whopping 121 runs from just 69 balls. His strike rate was impressive at 175.36, complete with eight sixes and 11 boundaries.
This marked Rohit’s return to being in top form, scoring his fifth T20I century despite his no-show in the initial two matches against Afghanistan. On the contrary side, both Virat Kohli and Sanju Samson weren’t so lucky, both making golden ducks. Additionally, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube were out after making just four and one runs respectively.
Fareed Ahmad did an amazing job for Afghanistan by capturing 3 wickets for 20 runs. Azmatullah Omarzai also contributed with a wicket.
Already, India was two up in the three-game series, having won the first two matches by six wickets. Both wins featured Shivam Dube hitting a half-century.
