• By Namrata Vijay
  • Thu, 10 Oct 2024 12:58 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

IND vs BAN, 2nd T20I: India's star batter Rinku Singh has revealed that both coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Suryakumar Yadav had given them full freedom to play their natural game, which helped them win the second T20I match against Bangladesh on Wednesday. Rinku scored a match-winning knock of 29 runs off 53 balls, in which he hit some brilliant shots and helped the team post a mammoth target of 221 runs.

Rinku also stitched a brilliant partnership of 108 runs with Nitish Kumar Reddy and helped the team bounce back after suffering a batting collapse. The Najmul Hossain Shanto-led side failed to chase the mammoth target and thus the Men in Blue won the match by 86 runs and took an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the series. During the post-match press conference, Rinku reckoned that both Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav had given him the freedom to play his natural game despite the kind of situation they were in.

"Both the coach and the captain have always told me to play my natural game, no matter the situation of the match. They’ve given us full freedom to back our shots and hit every ball with confidence," Rinku told reporters in the post-match press conference.

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The ball was gripping on the wicket

Rinku came into bat when the team was reeling at 41/3, where both the openers and skipper Suryakumar Yadav fell cheaply. He revealed that the ball was gripping on the surface and Nitish told him about this. He admitted that he planned on playing on er the surface initially and then began batting aggressively when the surface became batters-friendly.

He also emphasized that when Nitish smacked Mahmudullah for a six on the free hit, it turned the tide of the match in their favor.

"When the match started, the ball was gripping on the wicket, especially after we lost three wickets. When I went out to bat after Sanju Bhaiya and Surya Bhaiya got out, the ball was gripping on the deliveries they were out to. So, when I entered to bat, Reddy Bhai informed me that the ball was gripping, and I played accordingly in the beginning. Later, the wicket improved, and we discussed focusing on building a partnership and hitting bad balls to maintain momentum. The free hit Reddy Bhai got helped us gain momentum from there," he concluded.

The Suryakumar Yadav-led side are eyeing for a whitewash when they will lock horns with Bangladesh for the third and last T20I on Saturday in Hyderabad.