India vs Bangladesh 2024: Rinku Singh draws on MS Dhoni advice after match-winning knock in 2nd T20I in Delhi

Team India batter Rinku Singh surpassed one of his icon Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s multiple record en route to scoring a brilliant 53 off 29 balls in India’s massive win over Bangladesh in the 2nd T20I match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday. Rinku and ‘Player of the Match’ Nitish Kumar Reddy put on 108 runs for the 4th wicket on Wednesday – the third highest 4th wicket partnership for India in T20I cricket.

Rinku and Nitish surpassed Dhoni and his 107-run partnership with KL Rahul vs West Indies in 2016. The highest 4th wicket partnership for India is 141 not out between Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Varma against Australia in 2023 with Suryakumar Yadav’s 119-run stand with Shreyas Iyer vs England in 2022 comes in second.

After the match, Rinku Singh revealed how he banks on advice that he has received from former Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni to remain calm under pressure. “I keep telling myself to remain calm in tough situations. It comes naturally to me as I have been playing at this position for a long time. I practise accordingly as well. I have talked a lot regarding this with Mahi bhai (MS Dhoni) which has helped. When you lose 3-4 wickets, you need to have self-belief,” Rinku Singh said in the post-match press conference.

 

Rinku Singh said, “I’ve talked with MS Dhoni a lot regarding staying calm in tough situations. Mahi bhai always guided me”. pic.twitter.com/fI8hjYA2pM

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 9, 2024

Rinku blazed 53 runs off 29 balls at No. 5 while forming a crucial 108-run partnership off 49 balls with Nitish Kumar Reddy (74), laying the foundation for India’s 86-run victory. “The coach and captain have asked us to play our game and whatever the situation (is), the message from them is maarte jao ball ko (just keep hitting the ball),” Rinku said.

“(The) coach has asked us to back ourselves and play your game. He has given us full freedom to hit the ball,” added Rinku, who has worked with head coach Gautam Gambhir at Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL.

UP southpaw gave an insight into his mindset. “At the position I play, I get batting at different junctures of the game. Whenever I get batting earlier, my aim is to take singles and doubles and attack the bad balls,” he said.

“When I come to bat with 2-3 overs left, my aim is to hit more fours and sixes. My main aim is to collect more and more runs for the team,” he added.

He revealed that the ball was not coming properly on to the bat initially. “When the match started, the ball was not coming properly on to the bat. When Sanju (Samson) and Surya bhai got out then Reddy told me that ball phass rahi hai (the ball is sticking on the wicket).

“I batted accordingly and then the wicket got a little better. We were discussing that we should get a (good) partnership first and get the momentum. We started with singles and then Reddy hit sixes and the momentum changed,” Rinku said.