Quinton de Kock, the star opener for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), staged a remarkable comeback in their IPL 2024 face-off against Punjab Kings on March 30.
With a stunning half-century, the South African batting maestro demonstrated his prowess at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, alleviating concerns after a challenging season opener where he managed only four runs.
De Kock’s innings proved pivotal for LSG, especially after the early dismissals of KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal, as he fearlessly took charge, reaching his fifty in just 34 deliveries. His aggressive approach unsettled formidable bowlers like Kagiso Rabada and Arshdeep Singh, contributing significantly to Lucknow’s strong performance in the powerplay overs, despite losing two wickets early on.
Beyond its significance for Lucknow, de Kock’s fifty marked a significant personal milestone, equalling Suryakumar Yadav’s tally of 21 fifties in IPL history. Known for his attacking style, de Kock boasts an impressive record of 23 fifty-plus scores, including two centuries, positioning him just one behind the legendary MS Dhoni in terms of most fifty-plus scores in IPL history.
However, while de Kock anchored the innings admirably, the early departures of Rahul and Padikkal raised concerns about Lucknow’s batting depth. Although Marcus Stoinis injected some momentum with two sixes in an over, his promotion to No. 4 was short-lived, as he fell to Rahul Chahar after scoring 19 runs off 12 deliveries.
Eventually, Lucknow scored 199 with a crucial known from Nicolas Pooran and Krunal Pandya, both scoring 42 and 43 runs respectively. With the ball, Lucknow stopped Punjab for 178 runs with debutant Mayank Yadav taking 3 wickets while Mohsin Khan got 2 wickets.
