KKR vs LSG, IPL 2022 stat attack: Quinton de Kock posts highest score of season, stitches record stand with KL Rahul

Quinton de Kock provided a batting masterclass enroute to a sensational hundred and alongside skipper KL Rahul, fired Lucknow Super Giants to 210 for no loss against Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday.

More than 60 games into the IPL, the surfaces are getting tougher for strokeplay and Rahul thought it was better to put runs on the board.

Both Rahul and de Kock got the measure of the wicket in the powerplay, reaching 44 for no loss, before flaunting their wide range of strokes on way to their unbeaten 210-run stand, the highest ever opening partnership in the history of the tournament.

The South African hammered 10 sixes and as many fours in his 70-ball unbeaten 140, while Rahul collected four sixes and three fours in his 51-ball 68 not out.

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De Kock, who was dropped by Abhijeet Tomar off Umesh Yadav in the third over, made KKR pay heavily for the lapse. The South African was in his elements smashing the spinners and pacers with equal disdain.

He used the pull shot against the faster bowlers and was at his innovative best against the seasoned spin duo of Sunil Narine and off coloured Varun Chakaravarthy.

Out of the sixes he hit, de Kock’s reverse sweep off Narine stood out. Anything short from the pacers, de Kock was happy to put it away over deep square leg region.

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The southpaw was in no mood to stop even after reaching three figures. Tim Southee was poor in the death overs as he fed balls after balls in the slot for de Kock to deposit it into the stands.

His 19th over yielded as many as 27 runs with de Kock finding the boundary at will.

Rahul watched de Kock’s breathtaking knock from the best seat in the house. The skipper did not have much to do in the slog overs but he too played some sublime strokes on way to his third half century of the season.

In our coverage of the 66th match of IPL 2022, we take a look at some of the key statistics from the game so far:

— Quinton de Kock’s unbeaten 140, only his second ton in the IPL, is the highest score in the 15th edition of the season, going past Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler’s 116 against Delhi Capitals.

— De Kock also became the third player after Buttler (627) and Rahul (537) to cross 500 runs this season, jumping to the third spot in the Orange Cap list. The South African has collected three half-centuries so far this season in addition to the century.

— The unbroken 210-run stand between de Kock and Rahul is now the highest-ever opening stand in the history of the league. The record had previously belong to Jonny Bairstow and David Warner, who stitched a 185-run stand for the Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2019.

— This is first time in the history of the IPL that not a single wicket fell in the first innings of a match.

— Rahul, who remained unbeaten on 68 off 51 balls, became the first Indian to cross the 500-run mark for five consecutive seasons. Only Warner, who achieved the feat in six consecutive appearances, is ahead of him in this list.

With inputs from PTI

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