The first T20 International between India and Australia at Visakhapatnam on Thursday delivered a thrilling last-ball victory for India, with Rinku Singh emerging as the hero of the match. In a heartwarming moment after the game, Rinku shared a warm embrace with Abhishek Nayar.
Notably, Nayar has been part of the hindi commentary panel for the ongoing 5-match series between India and Australia.
As India faced a challenging target of 209 runs, the match reached a nail-biting conclusion in the final over. With India needing 14 runs off 12 balls, the situation became precarious as wickets fell in quick succession. Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, and Arshdeep Singh were dismissed off the 3rd, 4th, and 5th balls of the 20th over, leaving India on the verge of defeat.
With one run required off the final ball, Rinku Singh took strike against Sean Abbott. In a dramatic turn of events, Abbott bowled a no-ball, ensuring India's victory. However, Rinku didn't settle for just the no-ball; he sent the free hit soaring over long-on for a six, underlining his composure and match-winning abilities.
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Karthik, who has served as captain of KKR (Kolkata Knight Riders) in the past, threw some light on the bond which Rinku and Nayar share with each other.
“This was a partnership that started in 2018 during my time in KKR. Nayar always saw the potential in Rinku, he kept telling me, it was only a matter of time before he did something really special. Coming from a small town in Aligarh, all he needed was to think big, and I think that shift in mindset was what Nayar worked with Rinku majorly about apart from fine-tuning his death hitting skills,” tweeted Karthik, who went on to add: “Today when I see this photo, I just feel like Nayar as a coach has grown in stature and can share the happiness he feels for Rinku along with the rest of the world. Must be a surreal feeling seeing one of your students do well at a world stage and also be lucky enough to watch it live as a broadcaster and call the moment.”
Karthik also threw some light on the role Nayar had played when Rinku was going was battling an injury during 2018.
“Even during the time he had an ACL injury, Nayar convinced Venky Mysore sir, who gracefully accepted Rinku to be part of the team and made him travel and stay with KKR. Rinku stayed in Nayars’ house post-IPL for many months for rehab and started working on his batting and had a stellar domestic season and then eventually did what Nayar and KKR always thought he could do: a MATCH WINNING FINISHER.”