What a difference an year can make! Quinton de Kock had an average of 2.00 with Hyderabad Sunrisers in IPL-6. Twelve months on, the young South African is one of the most important pawns in Delhi Daredevils’ bid for IPL glory.
The 21-year-old keeper was once again in the thick of action at the Ferozeshah Kotla during his team’s group match with Rajasthan Royals on Saturday. De Kock’s stroke-filled 42 got the Daredevils off to a good start before they were pegged back by Pravin Tambe, who removed both him and skipper Kevin Pietersen in the same over.
Royals skipper Shane Watson said after electing to bat that he wouldn’t be surprised if he had to go on a long run chase and it certainly looked the case early on. De Kock drove the second ball of Stuart Binny’s opening over to the boundary while Murali Vijay followed suit six balls later, dispatching Kane Richardson with a beautiful cover drive.
Skipper Shane Watson shuffled around his bowlers first bringing on Dhawal Kulkarni, then himself, looking for the breakthrough, but it took the introduction of James Faulkner, Rajasthan’s hero in their last match against Kolkata Knight Riders, for that to happen. His first ball was misjudged by Murali Vijay who spooned a catch straight into the hands of Watson at mid-off.
Out walked Kevin Pietersen who averaged 83 at the Kotla, but he struggled right from the start. At the other end, De Kock continued in full flow. Pravin Tambe was hit for successive boundaries in his first over as the Johannesburg-born player completed 2000 runs in T20 cricket.
Rajasthan looked to have achieved another breakthrough as Pietersen found himself out of the crease after some smart glovework by Sanju Samson. Umpire Sanjay Hazare though bizarrely refused to refer the decision to the third umpire though Pietersen was clearly out of his crease.
Royals though did not have to wait long to get their man as the Delhi skipper picked out Steve Smith at long-on off Tambe in the tenth over. Tambe weaved his magic just three balls later, catching De Kock off his own bowling and putting Rajasthan firmly in the driver’s seat.