CHENNAI: Just when autumn was beginning to make way for another Indian winter last year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was faced with a dilemma. Shubman Gill's stock had never been higher, the decision to give him the keys to the captaincy in two formats had further entrenched him within the country's cricketing firmament.
So, BCCI decided to make Gill the defacto first choice T20I opener. That meant Sanju Samson, who has opened several times in this format, had to be crowbarred in the middle-order as Abhishek Sharma's place at the top was nailed. When Samson's place in the middle-order started a debate, they had to do two things. A) find a wicket-keeper who had the finishing numbers. B) find a finisher, preferably who had no secondary role in the side, and ask them to sit out.
That's why Jitesh Sharma replaced Rinku Singh in the line-up. A few months later, Gill and Jitesh are on the outside looking in. The former incumbents, Samson and Rinku, are back. It's almost like without Rinku, there can't be Samson in this line-up. The Kerala keeper has played 53 T20I games spanning 11 years but 20 of those have come in the last three three years with Rinku in the XI. It's a statistical quirk that when Rinku is there as the designated finisher, Samson's average zooms to 34.6 (career average of 25.4).
While Samson had an off night on Wednesday, Rinku batted for the first time since deciding the Asia Cup with that boundary in Dubai in September. Before their opener against the Black Caps in Nagpur, they had played 10 games. Rinku, though, had featured in only one of those 10 games.
He hadn't done much wrong — if anything he had lost his place unfairly. A strike rate of over 150 and scoring one boundary every 4.5 balls attested to it. Considering he was doing one of the hardest gigs in all of T20 cricket fairly successfully — coming in at the back-end of an innings and taking down seam — it was going to be a matter of time.
That moment came after 13.4 overs in the Indian innings under the Nagpur lights. When he walked out to bat, the hosts had rocketed along to 168 but they were also in danger of exposing 9, 10 and 11 with overs remaining. What makes Rinku Rinku, though, is his very clean ball-striking. He may not have the skill-sets of other finishers — accessing unusual areas behind the wicket with scoops or laps — but he's blessed with raw power and the ability to clear the ropes down the ground. He's also one of the best in the 20th over.
Much like MS Dhoni before him, the 28-year-old likes to reduce the last over into a one-on-one battle with the bowler. 'You miss, I hit. Even if you are good, I will still back myself to hit.' Or something like that. Since he made his debut in this format, no other international in this format has scored as many runs as him in the final over. For those asking, it's 115 0ff 38 balls (8 fours, 12 sixes and a barely believable three dismissals for a strike rate of 302.6).
This facet of his batting was again on display against Daryl Mitchell off the 20th over. That power he possesses saw him clear the V between mid-wicket and bowler twice. When Mitchell dropped it short, his military medium was not going to cause any trouble. An unbeaten 20-ball 44 was just what India needed on a venue with significant dew. Abhishek Sharma's blast at the top may have the set the game and the bowlers may have sealed the game but Rinku's ballast was the meat the sandwich needed.
"There was a lot of pressure to make runs," he told bcci,tv after the game. "I wanted to make as many runs as possible. My mindset is that I should finish well in the last over."
While there are four more dress rehearsals to go before the main event, the southpaw has once again showed that he lifts the ceiling of this side. Even if India decides to drop Samson for the World Cup (they do have the option of playing Ishan Kishan up top), Rinku's place in the XI may be rubber-stamped in the coming days.
Last autumn, one telling Rinku contribution gave India the Asia Cup. In March, he would hope for another telling contribution to usher in the summer.
