WATCH: Rinku Singh smashes KKR’s 24.75 crore purchase for massive six in intra-squad game

On Tuesday (March 19), an intra-squad match was played at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Kolkata Knight Riders squad was divided into Team Gold and Team Purple to constitute the match. Mitchell Starc’s Team Purple played Team Gold, which had players like Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, and Phil Salt.

Everyone was waiting for a glimpse KKR’s 24.75 crore purchase Mitchell Starc. The left-arm quick started the spell in his usual style. He swung the new ball both ways and troubled the batters early on. Starc also accounted for opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz in his opening spell.

WATCH: Rinku Singh smashes Mitchell Starc for massive six

Rinku Singh smashed a SIX to Mitchell Starc 🍿💥

This is Cinema!! pic.twitter.com/zQNhfPrqSR

— कट्टर KKR समर्थक 🦁🇮🇳 ™ (@KKRWeRule) March 19, 2024

In the last over of Team Gold’s innings, Mitchell Starc bowled a low full toss on Rinku Singh’s pads. Rinku flicked the ball towards square leg for a massive six. Starc looked good in his first three overs but went for 20 runs in his last. He finished with figures of 1/40 in his four overs.

Mitchell Starc became the most expensive player in IPL 2024 auction when he was signed by KKR for INR 24.75 crore. Starc is set to return to IPL after a gap of almost 9 years. He was signed by KKR in 2018 as well but he pulled out of the tournament.due to injury.

Meanwhile, Rinku finished with a brilliant 37 off 16 balls. Rinku Singh will be crucial to KKR’s chances this season. The left-hander has been in terrific form since last IPL. He is now an established player in India’s T20I squad as well, which augurs well for his confidence. Rinku is likely to bat in the middle order in IPL 2024, where he will be aiming to finish off games.

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Apart from these, Phil Salt scored a brilliant 78 off 41 balls, and has presented his case as an opener for KKR’s first match. Nitish Rana impressed with a half-century while Varun Chakravarthy finished with 2/40.

Salt replaced Jason Roy, who pulled out of the whole IPL due to personal reasons. Kolkata Knight Riders begin their IPL 2024 campaign against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 23 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

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