IPL 2022, LSG vs KKR, Top Performances: QdK's 140* takes LSG into Playoffs; KKR eliminated

IPL 2022, LSG vs KKR, Top Performances: Quinton de Kock's 140*, Mohsin Khan's 3-20 and Rinku Singh-Sunil Narine's 58 off 19 balls stand are top three performances. LSG move to 2nd place.

QdK, KL Rahul added 210 runs for opening stand against KKR (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Brief Scores: LSG 210/0 (de Kock 140*, Rahul 68*) beat KKR 208/8 (Shreyas 50, Rana 42, Rinku 40, Mohsin 3/20, Stoinis 3/23) by two runs

Player of the Match: Quinton de Kock (140* off 70 balls)

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) clashed heads at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai on May 18 in the 66th game of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.

KL Rahul-led LSG had suffered two back-to-back losses in the recent week which pushed them from the first spot to third in the IPL points table. They were determined from the word go to win this game to secure a berth in the playoffs.

Their opponents, the Shreyas Iyer-led KKR were at the sixth position in the points table prior to this game. They had to win this game against Lucknow by a huge margin to have any chance for qualification.

KKR faced Lucknow only once before this game in IPL, where the latter defeated the former by a big margin of 75 runs.

LSG skipper KL Rahul won the toss and opted to bat first. They made three changes in their playing eleven from the previous game. Krunal Pandya, Dushmantha Chameera and Ayush Badoni made way for Manan Vohra, Evin Lewis and Krishnappa Gowtham. Krunal Pandya missed out due to a niggle.

KKR made only one change in their eleven by including debutant Abhijeet Tomar in place of injured opener Ajinkya Rahane.

Lucknow defeated Kolkata by two runs in a nail-biting finish

After LSG opted to bat first, their openers Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul bestowed a steady start and wreaked havoc on the opponent bowlers by smashing sixes. De Kock (140*) took the lead in the partnership and notched up a huge century and stitched an unbeaten partnership of 210 runs in 20 overs with KL Rahul (68*), who played second fiddle to de Kock in the second part of the innings.

While chasing a huge target of 211, KKR suffered two early blows as LSG pacer Mohsin Khan sent Venkatesh Iyer and Abhijeet Tomar to the dugout early in the innings. Due to the hard-hitting knocks of Nitish Rana, skipper Shreyas Iyer and Sam Billings, KKR could manage to get past 150. However, it was the quick knock of Rinku Singh that helped KKR to reach close to the target. However, Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis bagged back-to-back wickets of Rinku Singh and Umesh Yadav to snatch the game for LSG from the jaws of defeat.

With this win, LSG became the second team to qualify for playoffs after Gujarat Titans, whereas five teams - Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad are still battling for the remaining two spots in the playoffs of IPL 2022.

KKR accumulated only 12 points, after losing their final group match against Lucknow and stand eliminated from this year’s edition.

Top Three Performances from LSG vs KKR, Match 66, TATA IPL 2022:

Quinton de Kock's unbeaten 140 is the 3rd highest score in IPL history (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul blow away KKR bowlers

When LSG skipper KL Rahul chose to bat first on a dry wicket of Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, he looked determined to contribute in this vital game against KKR. LSG openers Rahul and Quinton de Kock took a few balls to get accustomed to the wicket. De Kock got a life when debutant Abhijeet Tomar dropped his catch at third man when the batter was on just 11.

However, after that reprieve, de Kock hit back with a huge six over deep mid-wicket boundary in the same over off pacer Umesh Yadav. His ally Rahul also went big off pacer Yadav. He pummelled one six and a four in the next over of Yadav. The opening duo played KKR spinners - Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy - cautiously before smacking pacers to every part of the ground. De Kock smoked a huge six off pacer Andre Russell over the deep mid-wicket boundary. His partner Rahul bettered de Kock with two back-to-back sixes off Kiwi pacer Tim Southee.

De Kock completed his fifty in the eleventh over in 36 deliveries, and Rahul followed him by completing his fifty in 41 deliveries. After completing the milestone, de Kock went in attacking mode. He reverse-swept Narine over the backward point boundary to get an attractive six.

De Cock went berserk in the death overs of the innings and launched two huge sixes and a four in an over bowled by spinner Chakravarthy. The Protea batter pulled another six off Russell and completed his century by smashing a four in the same over. The 29-year-old batter completed his second IPL hundred in just 59 deliveries.

In the next over bowled by Southee, Rahul started with a gigantic six straight down the ground, however, it was de Kock who lit up the stadium with three consecutive sixes in the same over. In the final over of the innings, the southpaw cracked four consecutive boundaries off Russell to help his side to get past 200 in this important game. De Kock remained unbeaten on 140 off just 70 deliveries. This is the third-highest individual score in IPL history, after Chris Gayle’s 175* for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) against Pune Warriors India in 2013 and 158* by Brendon McCullum for KKR against RCB in 2008. De Kock’s sensational knock was studded with ten fours and the same number of towering sixes.

Rahul remained unbeaten on 68 off 51 deliveries. The opening duo recorded the highest-ever opening partnership in IPL history - 210 in 20 overs by beating the previous record of 185 runs registered by Sunrisers Hyderabad openers David Warner and Jonny Bairstow against RCB in 2019.

Read More: IPL 2022, LSG vs RR, Top Performances: Jaiswal 41, Padikkal 39, bowlers help RR overtake LSG

Mohsin Khan's 3-20 helps LSG beat KKR (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Mohsin Khan bagged three wickets to trounce KKR

While chasing a monumental total of 211 runs, yet another new opening pair of KKR - Venkatesh Iyer and debutant Abhijeet Tomar – failed to give a good start to their side, as left-arm seamer Mohsin Khan dismissed Iyer for a duck in the opening over of the innings to derail KKR’s innings.

In his next over, Mohsin bagged the wicket of Abhijeet on a personal score of just four to corner the opponents. Captain Rahul brought Mohsin again into the attack in the 13th over, when KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer and Sam Billings were stitching a vital partnership for the fourth wicket. The 23-year-old seamer conceded only two runs in the 13th over to put pressure on KKR batters. This pressure of required run rate got the better of Shreyas and he went for attacking strokes immediately in the next over, and lost his wicket after completing his fifty in just 28 balls.

When the most destructive batter of KKR, Andre Russell, came in the middle, LSG skipper Rahul called up Mohsin once again. The left-arm pacer delivered once again for his side by dismissing Russell on a personal score of just five. In the end, LSG came out on top in the game after the nail-biting finish. In a match where both teams racked up 200 runs each, Mohsin conceded only 20 runs in his quota of four overs and took three vital wickets. His sensational bowling effort proved to be extremely important in the end for his side, as by winning this final group match, LSG have secured their spot in the playoffs.

Read More: IPL 2022, SRH vs KKR, Top Performances: Russell’s brilliance (49*, 3-22) diminishes SRH Playoffs bid

Rinku-Narine added 58 runs off 19 balls for 7th wkt against LSG (Images ©BCCI/IPL)

Rinku Singh-Sunil Narine burst in final overs went in vain

When Caribbean all-rounder Sunil Narine came to bat at number eight, his side KKR had already lost their three batters in the last four overs. KKR required 61 runs in the last 20 balls, which looked a herculean task for both these lower-order batters.

However, Narine whacked a huge six over deep mid-wicket off the second delivery he faced. His partner Rinku Singh repeated the same feat by clubbing an elephantine six over fine leg boundary in the next over. Narine clubbed two more sixes in the next few balls to stretch the game to the final over.

However, it was Rinku Singh who turned the game on its head by cracking two sixes and a four in the final over. However, when KKR needed only three runs off two balls, Evin Lewis grabbed a miraculous catch of Rinku with his left hand; Rinku Singh made 40 runs off just 15 balls in his whirlwind knock. However, next batter Umesh Yadav failed to connect bat with ball, which knocked down the stumps to finish the chase of KKR. Narine remained unbeaten on 21 off just seven deliveries.

LSG defeated KKR by just two runs in the hard-fought game.

Read More: IPL 2022, GT vs LSG, Top Performances: Shubman's well-measured 63* takes GT into playoffs

TATA IPL 2022 Points Table

TATA IPL 2022 Points Table: LSG beat KKR and move to 2nd place

What’s to Come

Royal Challengers Bangalore will lock horns with table-toppers Gujarat Titans at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on May 19. This game is practically a knock-out game for Bangalore which they have to win by a huge margin to book a seat for the playoffs.

Top Twitter reactions from LSG vs KKR, Match 66, IPL 2022

Quinton de Kock's unbeaten century 140* against KKR received a lot of accolades across the cricket fraternity on twitter.

Amidst all the praise for QdK, Rinku Singh played a 15-ball-40-run knock that almost snatched the win from LSG's jaw. Top appreciation tweets for Rinku Singh.

Read More: IPL 2022: Dissecting KKR’s slump: Where it's going wrong for IPL 2021 runners-up