Quinton de Kock has superbly steered the Lucknow Super Giants to a win against the Delhi Capitals with a masterful 80 from 52, with 9 fours and 2 sixes.
Despite a positive start from Prithvi Shaw, Delhi struggled to get bat on ball for much of the second half. They were just 3 down at halftime, but could only manage a meagre 149. Spin successfully tied down the innings, and it seemed to be a straightforward chase.
Skipper KL Rahul added 73 with Quinton de Kock, who shifted through the gears when Anrich Nortje had a bowl in his first match after a long injury layoff. In the fifth over, he hit three consecutive boundaries through the offside followed by a brutal pull shot over deep square leg for his first maximum.
Runs dried up for Lucknow during the middle passage, but de Kock calmly accumulated and rotated strike to keep the innings flowing.
The wicket of the dangerous Evin Lewis seemed to stifle LSG, but de Kock continued to score all around the ground. His innings came to an end after consecutive boundaries off Kuldeep Yadav, but the damage had already been dealt.
Krunal Pandya and Ayush Badoni successfully sealed the win in the final over, giving their side victory No 3.
DC 149/3 in 20 overs (Shaw 61 – Bishnoi 4-0-22-2)
LSG 155/4 in 19.4 overs (de Kock 80 – K Yadav 3.4-0-31-2)
Photo: IPL