Quinton de Kock was the star of the show for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their first win of the new season against the Rajasthan Royals. However, more than his unbeaten 97-run knock, de Kock’s catch and catching technique has dominated the headlines.
Quinton de Kock may have retired from international cricket at just 32 years of age but there is still a lot of cricket left in him and the South African wicketkeeper-batter’s prowess with the bat and behind the stumps was in full display in just his second game for a new franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). De Kock played a match-winning knock of 97 off just 61 deliveries as he guided KKR to a comfortable run-chase of 152 after the bowlers did the majority of the job in the first innings.
De Kock played nicely with the bat, however, his effort behind the stumps in the field took the cake and became one of the moments of the match. One of the safest blokes behind the stumps, de Kock showed his skill level as a keeper when Riyan Parag miscued a Varun Chakravarthy delivery – bowled at 113 km/hr – in the eighth over of the innings.
De Kock was quick to call ‘mine’ but since it was high up in the air, he first removed his helmet after the ball was already in the air but kept his eyes on the ball all through his run and eventually took a simple catch to dismiss the opposition skipper. De Kock’s act was praised by fans and experts alike as the presence of mind to let his vision stay clear and that the helmet grill not be a hindrance was very quick on the feet from him.
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Each of Harshit Rana, Chakravarthy, Moeen Ali and Vaibhav Arora ended up taking two wickets apiece as the Royals were contained for just 151. De Kock made it a walk in the park in the second innings with the bat for KKR to get off the mark. For Royals, they need to do quick-feet thinking as well, otherwise, it could be a very long season for the Men in Pink.
