WATCH: Rashid Khan Picks First Hat-trick of IPL 2023, Rinku Singh's 5 Sixes Haunt Gujarat Titans Later

Rashid Khan picked up the first hat trick of IPL 2023 season but little did he know that his incredible bowling would not make headlines, instead it was Rinku Singh’s improbable five sixes in a row that changed the course of the match and sealed a thrilling three-wicket victory for Kolkata Knight Riders.

Gujarat Titans were in the backseat up until the moment their captain turned the contest on its head as he dismissed the likes of Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and Shardul Thakur to rattle the Kolkata Knight Riders’ batting order.

Venkatesh Iyer’s fifty and KKR skipper Nitish Rana’s 45-run knock kept their side in the contest but once Iyer departed, his brilliant 83-run inning was ended abruptly by Alzarri Joseph.

GT vs KKR Highlights, IPL 2023: Rinku Singh Last-over Blitz Propels Kolkata Knight Riders to Stunning Three-wicket win

The two-time IPL champs were still some way off from the required target of 205 runs, although there was still hope in the hearts of KKR fans as their talismanic all-rounder Russell came onto the pitch, however, he became the first prey of Rashid, and then Narine was the next in line to depart before the Gujarat Titans stand-in captain completed his hat-trick by removing Shardul.

While Narine and Russell did appear to struggle, Thakur had only just scored a quickfire fifty in KKR’s last match and was in good form however, he couldn’t read Khan’s swinging delivery and was given LBW out.

Watch Rashid Khan picks up first hat trick of IPL 2023:

The mood in both camps changed instantly as Gujarat Titans appeared to be heading towards another clinical victory, but Rinku Singh had other ideas.

IPL 2023 Points Table: Check Team Standings, Team Points, Wins, Losses & Orange Cap,  Purple Cap

Rinku Singh and Umesh Yadav were in the middle with KKR needing 29 runs from 6 balls to win.

Yadav began the over of Yash Dayal with a single, giving the strike to Rinku who needed to score 28 from five balls.

He smashed 30 runs, five consecutive sixes and took Kolkata Knight Riders from despair to delight. The 25-year-old won the Player of the Match award for his heroics.

IPL 2023: Purple Cap Complete List of Bowlers with Most Runs, Check here

Even the Afghanistan spin-wizard praised Rinku for his sublime show of grit, determination and sheer persistence.

“Rinku played unbelievable shots and credit goes to him for the way he played and for the way he finished. Keep it simple, hit the right area consistently and that’s what T20 is all about,” said Rashid in his post-match interview.

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