Kolkata Knight Riders have finally managed to get their first win of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026), thanks to a fighting fifty from Rinku Singh. Ajinkya Rahane and co. managed to chase down the 156-run target set by RR with two balls to spare. Rinku, whose batting position and his knocks had been criticised in the past in the ongoing edition of the tournament, proved once again that he isn’t only just an able finisher, but is also capable of handling the affairs at number 6 and taking the team across the finish line even during tough times.
Rinku Singh leads KKR to first win of IPL 2026
Rinku Singh slammed a maximum off the 4th delivery off the 20th over to help KKR register a 4-wicket win against Rajasthan Royals. The UP batter scored 53 runs off 34 deliveries, striking at 155.88, including five fours and two sixes. Coming in to bat at number 6 when KKR found themselves in a vulnerable position, Rinku stitched together a 76-run partnership with Anukul Roy, out of which he scored 41 runs off 21 deliveries as he successfully managed to get KKR across the line to register their first win of IPL 2026.
Before this game, Rinku had registered scores of 33*, 35, 4, 6, and 1 in the 5 innings that he had played so far in IPL 2026. Coming into bat after Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s dismissal, after the end of the powerplay, Singh made sure that he stayed through till the end of the innings, and played a patient knock to help KKR reach their 1st win. He was involved in an 18-run partnership with Povwell, a 15-run partnership with Ramandeep Singh, and finally a 76-run partnership with Anukul Roy.
Ahead of this match, former Indian selector K Srikkanth had questioned the use of Rinku Singh at number 5 by KKR, and had suggested that he was better off at number 7. However, his numbers suggested otherwise, and he once again proved the same on Sunday.
Before the game against RR on Sunday, Rinku Singh had scored 423 runs from 27 matches while batting at number 6 in the IPL, at an average of 24.88 and a strike rate of 137.78.
Rinku got limited opportunities to feature in T20s before the IPL. Although he was a part of India’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad, he featured only in some games and didn’t get a lot of chances to prove his worth with the bat.
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