IPL 2022: Quinton de Kock's 80 Helps Lucknow Register 6-Wicket Win Against DC

Quinton de Kock top scored in the game with 80 for Lucknow.

Quinton de Kock scored 80 in a winning cause.

Image: BCCI

• Lucknow Super Giants defeated Delhi Capitals by 6 wickets.

• Quinton de Kock scored 80 for LSG and helped set up the win.

• Lucknow have won three out of the four games they have played.

Led by Quinton de Kock’s sublime knock of 80 off 52 deliveries, the Lucknow Super Giants survived a couple of late scares, to register a 6-wicket win against the Delhi Capitals. Young Ayush Badoni hit the finishing runs, into the stands over extra-cover, to hand Lucknow their third win in the IPL.

Delhi had posted 149 in their innings with Prithvi Shaw scoring 61.

Batting first, Delhi Capitals started off quickly, with Prithvi Shaw going great guns, hogging most of the strike, while David Warner found it difficult to score. Shaw was his usual attacking self against the Lucknow bowlers, looking to make the powerplay count.

The young right-hander hit a flurry of boundaries, finding the gaps square off the wicket on both sides. At the end of the powerplay, Shaw was on 47 from 27 deliveries with DC at 52/0 and Warner having scored 3 of 9 balls.

Right after the powerplay, Shaw was dismissed by K Gowtham, caught behind after he had hammered 61 from 34 balls, hitting 9 boundaries and a couple of sixes as well.

Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan in the match against LSG.

At the other end, young Ravi Bishnoi got into the act too, removing David Warner for 4 and Rovman Powell for 3, both having played 22 deliveries without hitting a boundary. Lucknow were on top but Delhi turned to Rishabh Pant, who had Sarfaraz Khan for company.

Sarfaraz started out with a boundary while Pant played out a maiden at the other end in the 12^th. Krunal and Tye conceded a total of 10 in the next two overs pushing Pant and Sarfaraz into a spot.

Bishnoi was played out watchfully with a boundary to boot at the end, after which Pant went through the gears against Andrew Tye, hitting two sixes in a 18-run over. Avesh was picked off for 13 by the batters as Pant and Sarfaraz looked to finish big.

Holder brought all his experience and variations to the fore next, and rattled off an economical over. Avesh too backed that up with a solid 19^th over. Neither Pant or Sarfaraz were able to get their timing going in the final phase, including the final over as they finished with 149/5. Holder and Avesh were brilliant in the final overs, as Pant and Sarfaraz finished unbeaten on 39 and 36.

In response, even Lucknow’s normally fast scoring openers, KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock too found it hard to get their timing going. An 11-run one from Lalit Yadav and a 19-run over of Anrich Nortje, of which 29 were scored by de Kock, helped LSG get a move on midway through the powerplay. LSG finished the powerplay with 48 on the board, Rahul unable to get a move on.

The openers continued in similar manner after that as well, LSG keeping the scoreboard moving as Delhi hunted for wickets. It was Kuldeep who eventually got the first breakthrough, removing Rahul, who had just hit him for a six, for 24, caught by Prithvi Shaw.

Evin Lewis joined de Kock, and as expected the new man too found it tough to find his timing. The duo put 13 runs before Lewis tried to cut loose and holed out to Kuldeep Yadav of Lalit for 5, after 13 deliveries. LSG were however, far from being in trouble yet.

De Kock meanwhile had also completed his fifty, and was looking in good touch. He started the 13^th over with a six of the outside edge when Nortje lost control and bowled a full toss at around shoulder height. That over the next brought Lucknow 21 runs closer, with de Kock making life very difficult for Delhi. Off the next over, Nortje bowled another full toss, after a couple of deliveries, above the waist and was taken off the attack for the night.

Kuldeep took on the over and de Kock smacked him for a couple of boundaries. However, Kuldeep would have the last laugh as the South African went for another big hit and edged it to short third man, where Sarfaraz Khan took a superb catch. Kuldeep had his second wicket and de Kock was gone for 80 of 52 balls, having hit 9 fours and 2 sixes.

Shardul kept it tight after that with a five-run over as Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda weren’t afforded any loose deliveries. In the final two overs, Lucknow needed 19 runs. Krunal hammered a six of Mustafizur in the penultimate over to bring it down to 5 in the final over.

Shardul dismissed Hooda for 11 of the first ball as Axar took it diving forward at deep cover. Young Ayush Badoni however finished it off nonchalantly with a six and a couple of deliveries to spare.