Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 18 (ANI): Rinku Singh went past former stalwarts Rahul Dravid, Saba Karim and current Test opener Yashasvi Jaiswal in India's all-time highest first-class averages, with a minimum of 50 innings after his recent exploits in the opening round of the Ranji Trophy.

Rinku roared to a sizzling 165* in first-class cricket for Uttar Pradesh against Andhra Pradesh, weeks before touring Australia for a five-match T20I series. With a batting masterclass, Rinku's first-class batting average has now soared to 54.68 to 57.39, the tenth highest all-time among Indian cricketers with a minimum of 50 innings.

After a valiant effort, Rinku eclipsed Dravid and Jadeja. In the overall tally, Vijay Merchant, who notched over 13,000 runs at an average of 71.64, sits at the summit. The legendary batter, followed by Shantanu Sugwekar and KC Ibrahim, are the only others in the list to average over 60.

In the opening round of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season, Uttar Pradesh squared off against Andhra Pradesh at Kanpur's Green Park. Andhra skipper Ricky Bhui won the toss, opted to bat and the top-order made merry as KS Bharat (142) and Shaik Rasheed (136) put up a 194-run stand for the second wicket.

After batting for nearly two days, Andhra posted a daunting 470; a draw was the most plausible outcome. In reply, UP's Madhav Kaushik and Aryan Juyal forged a 119-run partnership for the second wicket but got dismissed in the same over. Rinku arrived at the crease at 146/3 and saw his side fall to 178/5.

UP slipped further behind in the game after Aaradhya Yadav's dismissal left them threadbare at 220/6. Rinku, unbeaten on 36 at that time, found support from the other end tail-enders Vipraj Nigam (42) and No.9 Shivam Sharma (36). The southpaw did the bulk of the scoring while Vipraj and Shivam held the other end.

On the fourth and final day of the fixture, Rinku hammered his eighth century in first-class cricket and took UP into a one-run lead, with his career-best 165*. With a rollicking effort, he helped UP to claim three points from the encounter. (ANI)