After playing an explosive and unbeaten knock of 140 runs against Kolkata Knight Riders, Lucknow Super Giants wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock said that his unique century celebration was out of frustration. A blistering century by Quinton de Kock and an attacking half-century by KL Rahul saw LSG defeat KKR in a nerve-wracking IPL 2022 match by two runs at the Dr DY Patil Stadium here on Wednesday.
"I was a little bit cooked (after his innings) but it was a matter of getting some refreshments and get on with it I guess. It was a bit of frustration that came out (on his aggressive century celebrations). Felt really good to come out and do well. Was trying to keep it in, but when it came out, felt good," said De Kock in the post-match presentation.
LSG's opening pair smashed several records as they remained unbeaten at the end of 20 overs with 210 runs on board. The duo scored the highest opening stand in IPL history. Quinton de Kock remained unbeaten with a swashbuckling 140.
"To be honest, not really (whether he thought the game would get so close). Obviously, they played really well, assessed conditions well and came hard at us. I thought he (Stoinis) would defend it easily. But when the first three went, I thought the game was done for us. But that catch, turned things for us. As they say, good catches win matches," said De Kock.
Chasing 211, KKR needed 21 runs off the last over, where Rinku Singh smashed 18 runs off 4 balls. He was then caught by Evin Lewis and LSG ended up winning the game by 2 runs.
KKR showed a lot of heart and courage in their chase as they clocked 208 runs in 20 overs, just 3 runs short of the target. Shreyas Iyer smashed 50 while Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh played quick knocks of 42 and 40 respectively. For LSG, Moshin Khan and Marcus Stoinis scalped three wickets each.
With this loss, KKR are out of IPL 2022 playoffs contention with 12 points against their name after all 14 league matches played. Lucknow climbed to the second spot with 18 points with its victory in the high-scoring match that had spectators on the edge of their seats.