WATCH: Rinku Singh hammers Aiden Markram for ‘costly six’ in 2nd T20I, breaks glass of media box

Rinku Singh once again captured the attention of the cricket world with his maiden T20I half-century against South Africa. Although his exploits went in vain as the Proteas won the second T20I by five wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, the southpaw did not fail to impress. While registering his career-best score of 68*, Rinku displayed some spectacular hitting at St. George’s Park in Gqeberha on Tuesday, December 12.

Asked to bat first and losing both openers early on, Team India were in dire straits. Tilak Varma played an effective cameo before Rinku Singh joined skipper Suryakumar Yadav in the middle. The two then added 70 runs for the fourth wicket. Suryakumar departed after making another fifty, but Rinku continued his onslaught at one end until rain made its appearance in the final over of the first innings.

Rinku completed his half-century in the 16th over off a delivery from opposition skipper Aiden Markram. Dealing with singles in that over, Markram decided to bowl the penultimate over, but this time India’s ‘new finisher’ didn’t spare him. Rinku unleashed his monster mode by hitting the right-arm spinner for two consecutive sixes, one of which smashed through the glass of the media box.

Watch the video below: 

Rinku apologises for breaking the glass

The Uttar Pradesh-born cricketer’s final burst was crucial in India reaching a competitive score of 180/7 in 19.3 overs. His 39-ball 68 included nine fours and two sixes. Meanwhile, in a video posted on the Indian Cricket Board’s official X handle, Rinku was heard saying that he was not aware of the glass-breaking incident and innocently apologised for it.

“When I hit that shot for six, I did not know that the glass broke. I came to know of it now. Uske liye sorry [Sorry for that],” Rinku said.

Rinku rose to prominence during the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL), where he displayed outstanding finishing skills for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Batting in the lower middle order, the 26-year-old has single-handedly won several matches for them. He managed to continue the heroics for his national team and almost booked his berth in the 2024 T20 World Cup.