The “Rinku, Rinku” chants at the Eden on Monday night are a clear indicator of his rising fan following. For Rinku Singh though, what matters is staying calm instead of getting swayed by the ambience.

“Calm rehna padhtaa hai (You’ve got to stay calm). I can’t pay more attention to people screaming ‘Rinku, Rinku’. Otherwise, I’ll lose focus.

“So my focus was obviously on that last ball instead of the chants,” Rinku said on Wednesday, the eve of Kolkata Knight Riders’ clash against Rajasthan Royals.

Rinku stayed unbeaten on 21 off 10 balls against Punjab Kings on Monday, holding his nerves to hit a four off the final ball to win — the Knights needed two for victory. Alongside the back-in-business Andre Russell, Rinku, too, is on his way to trigger fear in any opposition camp.

Words of advice from maestro Mahendra Singh Dhoni, when the Chennai Super Kings played at the Eden on April 23, have also aided the young batter.

“He (Dhoni) has been the world’s best finisher. I had asked him what else I could do while going to bat. He just told me, ‘Don’t think much, just wait for the ball and then react’,” Rinku said.

Wary of the Russell-Rinku threat, the Royals understand the need to be clear about their plans for the duo. “Russell’s a guy (for whom) you need to be extremely clear about your plan,” Royals’ pacer Trent Boult said. “I’ve managed to get him out a couple of times. So you’ve got to be very, very precise with how you bowl to him.

“Not only has Rinku Singh become a good death-overs player, he obviously helped Russell (in the last game) too” the left-arm quick added.