Shreyas Iyer praised Rinku Singh for maintaining his calm and guiding the Kolkata Knight Riders to a seven-wicket win over the Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Monday. The 24-year-old scored 42 runs in 23 balls to help his side chase down a 153-run target with five balls to spare. 

Rinku Singh and Nitish Rana (48 off 37 balls) shared a 66-run stand in KKR’s win. The former smashed six boundaries and a six during his stay at the crease. 

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Talking about the performance in the post match presentation, KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer said that Singh is an asset to the franchise. 

“I was talking to my teammates in the dressing room and was like, the way he’s maintaining his calm even in such pressure situations playing his second or third game, it’s outstanding. Building that partnership with Nitish Rana in that situation, it’s something we have to praise about and he’s a great asset for the future in the franchise,” Iyer said. 

“The way he has given starts right from the first game, he doesn’t look like a newcomer in the team.”

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The Kolkata captain himself played a patient 34-run hand in 32 balls. He further praised the bowlers. 

“Right from the powerplay when our bowlers conceded just 36 runs and took a wicket, it was just the start we needed. We have been talking about Umesh right from the start. He has increased his pace, bowls those hard lengths and as a captain you just have to give him the ball to deliver,” he said. 

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On the day, Sunil Narine was the most economical KKR bowler. He gave away 19 runs in four overs. 

“Whenever I give Sunil Narine the ball, he gets me wickets, but the batsmen don’t take chances against him. He is very economical, but when he gets a wicket, he gets a big one,” Iyer spoke about the West Indies player.