‘Mahi bhai ne bataya tha…’: How MS Dhoni’s words of wisdom made emerging ‘finisher’ Rinku Singh calm | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: A tense finish in a high-scoring thriller but middle-order batter Rinku Singh stood in the middle as calm as a cucumber and wrapped up India’s highest-ever T20I chase against Australia with a six down the ground off the last ball of the match in Visakhapatnam Thursday night.
After proving his mettle in the IPL, Rinku rose on the international stage, showing no signs of nerves in the tall 209 chase against the Aussies.
Although the six was not considered as Sean Abbott bowled the final delivery as no ball, handing India a win, Rinku’s ice-cool finish once again brought him in the spotlight.
After the match, Rinku said that former skipper MS Dhoni‘s advice has helped him a lot whenever the match situation gets tense.
“I once had a word with Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) and asked him what is his thinking process in the final over in a chase. He told me the key is to remain as calm as possible and try and hit the ball straight. I have been following his advice and try to remain calm. Showing no reactions. That has helped me a lot,” said Rinku.
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The 26-year-old Uttar Pradesh batter remained not out on 22 off 14 balls, hitting four fours at a strike rate of 157.14.
“Feeling good that we won. My only aim was to be perfect when I walked out to bat, and it felt good out there to be playing alongside Surya. I was thinking of doing what I generally do in crunch situations and was trying to stay as calm as possible,” he added.
“I didn’t realise it was a no-ball until I heard it from Axar bhai in the dressing room. Although the winning six won’t be considered, it doesn’t matter; we won the match, that’s what matters,” he said.
Riding on skipper Suryakumar Yadav (80) and Ishan Kishan (58) fifties and a superb finish from Rinku, India chased down 209 for a 2-wicket win to go 1-0 up in 5-match series. The second T20I will be played in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.

Rinku came into the spotlight in the Indian Premier League. Initially roped in by Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) for IPL 2017, he has been playing for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) since 2018.
He did well in the IPL 2022 and drew eyeballs in the 2023 season for hammering five sixes in an over versus Gujarat Titans.
His IPL numbers read 725 runs in 31 matches at an average of 36.25 and a strike rate of 142.16, with four half-centuries.
Eventually, he earned his Indian team call-up in August during the Ireland T20I tour.
So far, he has batted in just three T20I matches, amassing 97 at an average of 97.0 and a strike rate of 194.0.
(With inputs from PTI)