Youngster Rinku Singh has made a smooth transition from T20I to ODI and aced the finishing role in the 3rd ODI against South Africa in what is his debut ODI series.
On what seemed a two-paced track early on at the Boland Park in Paarl, Rinku Singh scored 38 runs in 27 balls with the help of 3 fours and 2 sixes to help India reach close to 300 when earlier it felt India would be happy to take even 275 when Tilak Varma was struggling in the middle and Sanju Samson too was going at a strike rate of 80.
Rinku Singh came in to bat at the fall of Tilak Varma’s wicket in the 42nd over. On just the second ball he faced, the left-hander stepped out and lofted Keshav Maharaj for a four over mid-off. He then smoked Nandre Burger for a six over fine leg.
After dealing in singles for a while, Rinku took down Hendricks for a cheeky cut short between short thirdman and backward point. In the last over of India’s innings, Rinku Singh tore into Burger for a six and a four before the pacer had Rinku dismissed caught at deep mid-wicket fence by Reeza Hendricks. It was an entertaining cameo from Rinku that really helped India push toward 300.
Fans once again hailed Rinku Singh for his finishing prowess:
Sanju Samson recorded his maiden ODI century, scoring 108 runs in 114 balls. Tilak Varma struggled for the first half of his innings but hit a few boundaries later on to finish with 52 runs in 77 balls.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Rajat Patidar, Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul(w/c), Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar
South Africa (Playing XI): Reeza Hendricks, Tony de Zorzi, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Lizaad Williams, Beuran Hendricks
