Liputan6.com, Jakarta The cricket world was once again captivated by the heroics of Rinku Singh, the Indian cricket star who scored crucial "winning runs" in the 2025 Asia Cup final.
This dramatic moment occurred on September 28, 2025, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, securing the Indian team's ninth title.
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Rinku Singh, known as a left-handed batsman in the middle order and occasional off-spin bowler, has been in the spotlight for his consistent performances.
He had previously written about his wish to score "winning runs" in the final, an inspiring story that has now come true.
Heroic "Winning Runs" Moments in the 2025 Asia Cup
The 2025 Asia Cup final was Rinku Singh's chance to make history.
The match, between India and Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, was a closely fought affair.
Pakistan batted first and managed to score 146 runs in 19.1 overs, despite a collapse in the middle order after Kuldeep Yadav took four wickets.
India faced a tough challenge in chasing the 147-run target.
They struggled early, with the score at 20/3 after four overs, having lost crucial wickets like Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, and captain Suryakumar Yadav.
However, Tilak Varma delivered a brilliant performance with 69 runs from 53 balls, stabilizing the chase with Shivam Dube contributing 33 runs.
Rinku Singh, who had not played in the previous match but was included in the final team due to Hardik Pandya's injury, faced Haris Rauf's first ball in the final over.
He calmly struck it past mid-on for the boundary, securing India a five-wicket victory and their ninth Asia Cup title.
Rinku Singh's strike rate from that one ball was 400, making him the most efficient batsman in the tournament.
Rinku Singh's Domestic Career
Rinku Singh's career began at the domestic level, representing Uttar Pradesh across various age groups.
He made his List A cricket debut in March 2014 at the age of 16, scoring an impressive 83 runs.
His first-class debut followed on November 5, 2016, in the Ranji Trophy.
Rinku dominated the 2018–19 Ranji Trophy, becoming Uttar Pradesh's leading run-scorer in the group stage with 803 runs in nine matches.
He finished the tournament with a total of 953 runs from ten matches.
In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Rinku Singh was first recruited by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2018 season.
His fame further soared on April 9, 2023, when he hit a record five consecutive sixes in the final over against the Gujarat Titans, chasing a 29-run run, the highest chase in IPL history in the final over.
In the 2023 IPL season, he amassed 474 runs with a strike rate approaching 150, and successfully won the IPL title with KKR in 2024.
International Debut and Key Contributions
Rinku Singh made his international debut for India against Ireland in August 2023, marking a significant milestone in his career. Since then, he has shown stellar performances in various T20I matches.
On November 23, 2023, he scored 22 runs off 14 balls against Australia in the first T20I in Visakhapatnam.
Finally, on December 12, 2023, Rinku scored his first half-century in T20I cricket with a score of 68*.
In January 2024, he and Rohit Sharma formed a 190* run partnership against Afghanistan, which is India's highest partnership in T20Is and the highest in the world for the fifth wicket.
His contribution was also evident when he was named to the Indian squad as a reserve player for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
Besides T20Is, Rinku has also demonstrated his skills in One Day Internationals (ODIs).
He made his ODI debut against South Africa on December 19, 2023, scoring 17 runs and taking the wicket of Rassie van der Dussen.
On December 21, 2023, he played a crucial role in the match-winning match against South Africa in the second ODI, proving himself as a versatile player.