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.

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.

Batters with the highest first-class average (min 50 innings)

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