Rinku Singh breaks this IPL record of MS Dhoni: Details
What's the story
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star batter Rinku Singh has broken a 15-year-old Indian Premier League (IPL) record previously held by cricketing legend Mahendra Singh Dhoni. In the IPL 2026 match against Lucknow Super Giants at Ekana Stadium on Sunday, Rinku scored an unbeaten 83 runs off just 51 balls. His innings included seven fours and five sixes, helping KKR post a total of 155/7 in their allotted overs. The Knight Riders later won the game in the Super Over.
Strategic alliance
Rinku breaks Dhoni's record
Rinku's innings was instrumental in boosting KKR's total. He shared a crucial eighth-wicket partnership of 62 runs off just 30 balls with Sunil Narine. The left-handed batsman walked in to bat at No. 6 and went on to break Dhoni's record for the highest score by a batsman at this position in the first innings of an IPL match, as per ESPNcricinfo.
New milestone
Previous holder of the record
Previously, the record for the highest score by a batsman at No. 6 in the first innings of an IPL match was held by MS Dhoni. He had scored an unbeaten 70 runs off 40 balls for Chennai Super Kings against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2011. Overall, Andre Russell owns the record for the highest first-innings score while batting at six or lower - having made 88* for KKR against CSK in 2018. He batted at seven that day.
Stats
Career-best score in T20s
Overall, Rinku's 83* is ranked as the joint-fifth-highest IPL score at six or lower. The southpaw also brought up his career-best score in T20 cricket. It was his 20th half-century in the format. In the IPL, the left-handed batter slammed his sixth half-century. He has raced to 1,314 runs from 67 IPL games at an average of 32.85. Rinku, the acclaimed finisher in T20s, has a strike rate of 144.55 in the league.