In the Harry Potter universe, a boggart reshapes itself into whatever a person fears most. For Rinku Singh, the closest equivalent on a T20 pitch would be the kind of bowler who thrives in the middle overs—turning the contest into a mental battle. On Sunday at Eden Gardens, that fear almost became reality for the Kolkata Knight Riders batter before he turned his innings into an antidote.
Kolkata entered the day staring at a sixth defeat in as many completed matches. Spin had the upper hand on a surface that suited Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Bishnoi and Yash Raj Punia, and KKR’s chase had already slipped to 85 for 6 inside 13.5 overs. The situation was so grim that the win probability sat below 10%, while Rinku himself was stuck on 12 from 13 balls.
Jadeja and Bishnoi posed obvious challenges, but it was the changing grip and skid through the surface that really tested Rinku. After facing eight balls, he had managed just eight runs. When he reached his ninth delivery, he tried to free his arms with a lofted shot against Jadeja, but the timing was all wrong. The moment looked like it would define the innings—until Nandre Burger sliced a catch at short third.
Rinku later admitted that when you’re struggling, “sometimes the mind just doesn’t work”. Yet the dropped chance became the kind of turning point that can swing a match. Rajasthan Royals batting coach Vikram Rathour described it as a “turning point of the game”, and after that reprieve Rinku kept his approach simple. He didn’t go hunting for spectacle against Jadeja, allowing the bowler to finish with figures of 3-0-8-2. Against Punia’s legspin, he found his rhythm with quick dabs and tidy flicks.
Still, the contest could have tightened further when Riyan Parag brought his part-time spin into the attack to slow Rinku down. Instead, that change prompted a response. For the first time in his 16-ball stay, Rinku attacked—properly—making momentum look like something KKR could still manufacture.
The first boundary arrived in the middle of the 15th over. Parag overpitched full and wide outside off, and after a couple of tentative looks at the line, Rinku surged forward and struck straight over the top, clearing the field above his head.
One four didn’t immediately rewrite the chase, but the target of 157 meant KKR were never completely out of it. With Anukul Roy—more familiar with standing near the boundary in Rinku’s company than constructing a chase—partnering him, Rinku did the hard work of surviving the phase that has so often interrupted his progress. Even with pressure rising for more from a batter who is widely regarded as one of the better finishers in the league, he carried the responsibility into the final five overs.
Parag, remarkably, didn’t turn it into a wicket hunt against Jadeja, instead going to Bishnoi for the 16th over. That was the signal for Rinku to pounce again. The opening ball landed on middle stump, and Rinku launched a slog-sweep for six. Anukul then completed the over in style, sending another ball into the stands as KKR collected 19 runs.
From there, the game drifted into the territory where Rinku typically feels most comfortable. In the 17th over, Jofra Archer struck with a sharp short ball at the first attempt, and Rinku pulled it for four. A wide followed, and soon after, Rinku lofted a length delivery over mid-off. The resulting 12-run over shifted the weight of the chase decisively in KKR’s favour.
Brijesh Sharma’s 18th over briefly tightened things. Two full balls near leg stump were missed by Rinku, and umpire Kumar Dharmasena did not call them wides. Rinku wanted a review, but Kolkata had already used theirs. A push that found the gap brought a single, though Anukul’s leg-bye four ensured KKR still extracted value from the over.
With 21 runs required from 12 balls and the KKR dugout watching every delivery with growing tension, Archer returned for the 19th. This time, Rinku struggled to get enough of the strike. Anukul made the most of his opportunities, clearing the ropes with a six off a slot ball. Rinku kept running hard to keep the equation alive, bringing it down to single digits for the last over.
Parag could have gone for Burger, but instead relied on the less experienced Brijesh. It worked for Rinku. First, he sent a boundary skimming through deep square-leg, then followed with another through extra cover. A hooked six over fine leg sealed the chase and delivered a lifeline that had seemed unreachable just half an hour earlier—one that had looked buried for much of the season so far.
“My mindset was to take the game till the end,” Rinku said after the chase, smiling as the pressure finally eased. “I was having conversations with the coach and also with Anukul. The idea was to take it deep since the match was in a tricky situation. Thankfully, luck was on my side [when the catch went down]. That [putting in a winning performance] was in my mind as well. I had played quite a few innings and was waiting for a big one. This was a very good innings for me and also very important for my confidence.”
Rinku finished unbeaten on 53, his first IPL half-century since the opening stretch of the 2024 season. More than just keeping KKR’s campaign alive, it highlighted what he can add to the middle order when he survives the early-and-mid phase that has repeatedly stalled him. It wasn’t a flawless knock, but it was a fight—one in which the boggart stopped looking quite so frightening.
