Rinku walked out at No.5 with Uttar Pradesh having slipped to 33-3. He began with a boundary and put on a 57-run stand with opener Madhav Kaushik, who contributed 45. However, once Kaushik fell in the 32nd over, Uttar Pradesh suffered a mini-collapse, slipping to 104-6. They soon found themselves at 124-7 and were in deep trouble when Yash Dayal became the ninth wicket to fall, with the score reading 137-9.
Rinku, however, kept going at the other end. He brought up his fifty off 97 balls and found an unlikely ally in No.11 Vansh Chaudhary, who faced 26 balls for his four runs. Together, the duo took Uttar Pradesh past the 200-run mark, with Rinku also bringing up his 11th first-class hundred in the process. He reached the milestone in 155 balls, with a six and a four. Rinku remained unbeaten on 118, hitting 11 fours and two sixes.
Also Read: The lonely world of Rinku Singh
Rinku Singh’s sojourn away from the limelight
Having shot to fame after hitting five sixes in the final over of an IPL match in 2023, when Kolkata Knight Riders needed 28 runs off five balls, Rinku earned a place in India’s T20I side. He was also part of India’s 2026 T20 World Cup-winning squad. However, he currently finds himself away from the spotlight, having failed to secure a place in either the India A or senior national side.
That has not stopped Rinku from making a case for himself. Known for his white-ball exploits, he has also been steadily building an impressive record in red-ball cricket.
Rinku’s last eight first-class innings read 89, 68, 165*, 176, 60, 20, 112 and 118*, taking his average to 61.33 across 78 innings. That puts him among the top 10 batters with the highest first-class averages, among those with at least 50 innings. Sarfaraz Khan is the only other active player on the list.
Rinku also averages 52.56 in 70 List A matches and has a strike rate of 147.39 across 202 T20 appearances, underlining his ability to excel across formats. Despite his consistent performances, however, an India comeback remains elusive for the 28-year-old.
Also Read: The curious case of Rinku Singh, the domestic all-format superstar who can't make any India team
Batters with the highest first-class average (min 50 innings) Player Span Mat Runs Ave 100 50 Don Bradman 1927–1949 234 28,067 95.14 117 69 Vijay Merchant 1929–1951 150 13,470 71.64 45 52 George Headley 1927–1954 103 9,921 69.86 33 44 Ajay Sharma 1984–2001 129 10,120 67.46 38 36 Bill Ponsford 1920–1934 162 13,819 65.18 47 43 Bill Woodfull 1921–1934 174 13,388 64.99 49 58 Shantanu Sugwekar 1987–2002 85 6,563 63.10 19 26 Sarfaraz Khan 2014–2026 64 5,160 62.92 17 16 Rinku Singh 2016–2026 55* 3,987 61.33 11 23 KC Ibrahim 1938–1950 60 4,716 61.24 14 22
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.