After beating CSK in their IPL 2022 clash on Thursday (March 31), LSG wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock has said that winning such close games is always good for team morale. LSG chased the mammoth target of 211 with three balls remaining to complete the fourth-highest run chase in IPL’s history.
After defeating Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Match 7 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 clash on Thursday (March 31), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock opined that winning such close games is always good for the team morale. LSG chased down a challenging target of 211 in 19.3 overs against CSK to register a six-wicket win at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai.
De Kock played a crucial role at the top to make that happen. He, alongside skipper KL Rahul, scored 99 off 62 balls for the opening wicket, where Rahul contributed with 40 off 26 balls. The South African international continued to accelerate after Rahul’s dismissal and ended up scoring 61 off 45 balls, laced with nine fours. Evin Lewis (55* off 23 balls) and Ayush Badoni (19* off 9 balls) then ensured the victory in the final over to complete the fourth-highest successful run chase in IPL’s history.
“It was unbelievable. Winning these types of close games is always good for team morale. Great win, boys batted really well. We came out fighting and to come out on top is always special,” said de Kock in the post-match presentation.
Further, de Kock revealed they had always the belief to see off the target.
“We thought we can chase down 210. We understood after the first two or three overs that it was a really good wicket. I’d say it was a par score on this wicket actually. It was nice to get out there and just bat, I wasn’t in too much rush. I had to get out there and spend some time, I knew it was a good enough wicket. It was just a matter of doing that and it’s also nice for a couple of the other boys to get out there and bat a bit,” he added.
The South African international then lauded Lewis and Badoni for their handy contributions with the bat to get to the job done.
“Evin played a hell of a knock tonight which was unbelievable and so did the youngster. It was great for everyone. It was nervy, chasing 210 is always going to be a close game but the boys were quite calm. It was mixed emotions among everyone. I was pretty calm myself, we knew what was going on out there. But still to get it done actually is still a hell of a job done,” he signed off.
After registering their maiden win in IPL, LSG will now take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their next encounter on April 4 at DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.
