Lucknow Super Giants pipped Kolkata Knight Riders by two runs in a last-ball IPL drama to earn their play-off position on Wednesday. Quinton de Kock hit a spectacular century and had a record opening partnership with captain KL Rahul (May 18).
De Kock hit an unbeaten 140 off 70 balls as he and Rahul (68 not out off 51) led LSG to 210 for no loss, the greatest opening partnership in IPL history.
KKR remained in the game with Nitish Rana (42) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (50), but it was too much for the lower order to handle. In 20 overs, they reached 208 for eight.
Sunil Narine (21 not out off 15 balls) and Rinku Singh (40 off 15 balls) began hammering the LSG bowlers around the pitch when it appeared like KKR was out. KKR needed 38 runs from the last two overs, which they got down to 21 from the penultimate over.
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Rinku hit a pair of sixes and a four to make it five off the final three balls, but Evin Lewis caught him with a stunning one-handed grab to pull LSG back into the game.
Marcus Stoinis hit a yorker to remove Umesh Yadav and assist his side win a humdinger with three required off the penultimate ball.
The defeat eliminated KKR from the tournament, while LSG, who had lost their previous two games, returned to the top two with the victory.
Earlier, Rahul and de Kock took control of the wicket in the powerplay, reaching 44 for no loss before displaying their diverse stroke repertoire to the tournament’s third-best partnership.
In his whirlwind innings, the South African hit 10 sixes and as many fours, while Rahul did not out four in his 51-ball 68. De Kock, who was dropped in the third over by Abhijeet Tomar off Umesh Yadav, made KKR pay dearly by scoring the season’s highest score. His impressive inning was also the tournament’s third-highest individual score.
The South African was in his element, blasting pacers and spinners alike. He employed the pull shot against the quicker bowlers and was at his most inventive against Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy, the seasoned spin pair.
De Kock’s reverse sweep off Narine stood out among his sixes. De Kock was pleased to throw anything short from the pacers away over the deep square leg zone.
Quinton De Kock reached his century with a cut shot from Russell in the 18th over, and the innings meant a lot to him, as seen by his down on knees celebration.
Even after hitting three digits, the southpaw was in no mood to quit. Tim Southee was terrible in the dying overs, feeding balls after balls into the gap for de Kock to deposit into the stands. His 19th overproduced 27 runs, with de Kock reaching the boundary with ease.
From the greatest seat in the house, Rahul saw de Kock’s spectacular knock. The captain didn’t have much to do in the slog overs, but he did play some magnificent strokes on his way to his third half-century of the season.
Rahul also reached 500 runs for the sixth consecutive season in the event. Southee and Russell were the most costly bowlers for KKR, leaking 88 runs in the final five overs.
LSG has qualified for the IPL 2022 playoffs, but the top two spots are still up for grabs, as Rajasthan Royals have a game in hand and may overtake them with a higher NRR.
