Lucknow Super Giants' Quinton de Kock reacts after his dismissal by Chennai Super Kings' Deepak Chahar during the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai Quinton de Kock has made three single-figure scores in a row for the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League, after he made just two in his side’s thumping 10-wicket to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday. Picture: R.Satish BABU / AFP
Star Proteas batsman Quinton de Kock’s season in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) is rapidly turning sour.
The left-handed opener has made three single-figure scores in a row, after he made just two in his side’s thumping 10-wicket to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday. LSG made a well-below par total of 165/4 in their 20 overs, and their opponents chased down their victory target in just 9.4 overs.
LSG now find themselves sixth on the table, two spots outside a qualifying spot for the playoffs with two games remaining.
With three half-centuries to his name and a highest score of 81, De Kock had made some important contributions opening the batting for his team before his form took a dive.
In total, De Kock has played 10 of the 11 matches so far for LSG. His average now stands at 23.8 at a strike-rate of 133.7. Though he is a veteran of 337 T20s and 80 T20 Internationals (T20Is), his spot at the top of the order for LSG may already be in trouble, and if it isn’t, he certainly needs to find some runs before the playoffs if his team qualify.
The best season in the IPL for De Kock, in terms of run-scoring, came in 2019 when he scored 529 runs at an average of 35.26.
De Kock has retired for the Proteas in Test cricket and One-Day Internationals (ODIs) but remains available forT20Is.
That means he should be a key member of the Proteas at the T20 World Cup starting in June, straight after the IPL finishes at the end of May.