Rinku Singh had a memorable evening on Wednesday as the Indian team defeated Bangladesh by 86 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Singh smashed a half-century to help India score 221/9 before they restricted Bangladesh to a total of 135/9.
After the match, Rinku credited former Indian captain MS Dhoni for his advice as he came out to bat at a time when the Indian team lost three wickets early. The scoreboard read 41/3 when Rinku and Nitish Reddy began dominating the Bangladeshi bowlers and took the game away from the opposition.
Reddy won the Man of the Match award for his blistering 74-run effort in just 34 balls, whereas Rinku was also a treat to watch. Their 4th wicket partnership of 108 runs helped the Indian team post a mammoth target.
Rinku Singh stated that he has had multiple conversations with MS Dhoni regarding how to keep his nerve even when the team loses early wickets.
"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," said Rinku.
When quizzed about his blockbuster partnership with Nitish, the Uttar Pradesh batter stated that they both wanted to score on a slow wicket and they hoped to pick the opposition apart on the few bad deliveries that were bowled.
"We just wanted to build a partnership as the wicket was slightly slow, rotate strike and punish the bad balls. The momentum swung after that free-hit (off Mahmudullah) and Nitish gained a lot of confidence," Rinku added.
Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian team won the series taking an unassailable 2-0 lead and they will be hoping to inflict another clean sweep in Hyderabad where the third T20I will be played on 12 October.