Navi Mumbai: Quinton de Kock’s 80-run knock helped Lucknow Super Giants register their third successive win in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they beat Delhi Capitals by six wickets here on Thursday. De Kock faced 52 balls and hit nine fours and two sixes. He shared a 73-run partnership for the first wicket with captain KL Rahul (24 off 25 balls).
In the end, Krunal Pandya (19 not out off 14 balls) and Ayush Badoni (10 not out off three balls) took the team’s score to 155 for four. Badoni hit the winning six. Earlier, Delhi could manage only 149 for three after being invited to bat. Opener Prithvi Sauv scored 61 runs in 34 balls which included nine fours and two sixes.
Captain Rishabh Pant (39 not out off 36 balls, three fours, two sixes) and Sarfaraz Khan (36 not out off 28 balls, three fours) put on an unbroken 75-run partnership for the fourth wicket but they did not play freely as per their laurels. Get it This is Delhi’s second defeat in three matches. For Lucknow, leg-spinner Rabi Bishnoi took two wickets for 22 runs. Jason Holder (30 runs in four overs) and Avesh Khan (32 runs in three overs) conceded only 19 runs in the last three overs.
Lucknow spinners Bishnoi, Krishnappa Gautam (1 for 23) and Krunal Pandya (12 runs in 2 overs) conceded only 57 runs in 10 overs and took three wickets. In batting, Lucknow scored 48 runs for no loss in the powerplay, in which de Kock’s contribution was special. The wicketkeeper-batsman’s target was his South African teammate Enrique Norkia, in whose first over he hit three fours and a six. This was the first match of the fast bowler Norkia, who returned from injury, in this IPL.
Rahul hit a six off Kuldeep Yadav (2 for 31) at long on but the spinner gave Delhi the first breakthrough in his next over by showing him the path to the pavilion. De Kock completed his half-century off 36 balls with a four over cover on Kuldeep, but Evin Lewis (5 runs off 13 balls) struggled to score runs and Lalit Yadav (1 for 21) returned to the pavilion after waving the ball in the air. . Pant could not make full use of his spinners due to the dew effect.
In such a situation, Norkia again took the ball and de Kock sent his beamer at the speed of 150 km for six runs. Norkia beamed in the next over as well and was dropped from bowling. Thus his return was not pleasant. To complete his over, de Kock hit two fours on Kuldeep but in the same over he was caught at short third man. Lucknow needed 28 runs from the last four overs. Mustafizur Rahman and Shardul Thakur conceded only nine runs in the first two overs. In such a situation, Krunal’s six on Rahman became Sanjeevani for Lucknow. 14 runs were scored in this over.
After Deepak Hooda (11) was dismissed, Badoni hit a four and a six off Thakur’s successive deliveries. Earlier in the Delhi innings, all eyes were initially on David Warner, who was returning to the Delhi side after nine years, but it was Sauv who impressed with his quick but skillful batting. Sauv, who started with two fours on Gautam, spoiled his line and length with a beautiful six over midwicket on Holder and welcomed Avesh Khan for three consecutive fours.
Warner’s bat was silent but thanks to Sauv, Delhi managed to score 52 runs in the powerplay. Warner’s contribution in this was only three runs. Sauv completed his half-century in 30 balls and after this hit Gautam for six and four but on the next ball the wicketkeeper was caught by de Kock. Delhi’s score soon went from 67 for no loss to 74 for three. Warner could only score four runs in 12 balls and returned to the pavilion by giving a simple catch to short third man off Bishnoi.
The leg-spinner then slammed Rovman Powell (3 runs off 10 balls) on the googly. The bowlers of Lucknow kept the batsmen completely tied in the middle overs. Alam was that a batsman like Rishabh Pant had at one point scored only eight runs in 19 balls. He hit the first four after facing the 20th ball. And then in the next over Andrew Tye hit two scintillating sixes, but only one four in the last three overs from Delhi’s side.