In-form middle-order batsman Rinku Singh said good food and lifting heavy weights in the gym was the secret behind his 100-metre long six during the fourth T20I against Australia in Raipur on Friday night.
At the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium Rinku played a knock of 46 runs off 29 balls and shared a crucial 56-run stand for the fifth wicket with Jitesh Sharma who played a quickfire knock of 35 runs off 19 balls. India scored 174/9 in 20 overs enough to win by 20 runs.
“Aapko pata hi hai aapke saath gym hi karta hoon (You know I train with you in the gym)” Rinku told Jitesh Sharma in a video posted on BCC i.tv. I eat good food and I love lifting weights in the gym and that helps me generate power naturally (for shots). I have been playing in the IPL for five-six years. I try to keep myself calm by being confident and supporting myself.”
On the other hand Jitesh admitted that he was a bit nervous while batting as it was the first time he was playing an international match in India and thanked Rinku for keeping him calm during the crucial partnership.
“I played my last match for India in China during the Asian Games and that was against Afghanistan. It was really nice to play in India and that too in front of such a big crowd at home. The best thing about this game was my partnership with you which I thoroughly enjoyed.”
He concluded “I was under pressure but you looked so calm. I also want to thank you for keeping me calm. You kept telling me that we need to stay and build partnerships.”
India have taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the ongoing five-match T20I series against Australia and the fifth and final match will be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.
