Winning close games is always good for team morale, believes LSG batter Quinton de Kock

By ANI

MUMBAI: After defeating Chennai Super Kings in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 clash on Thursday, Lucknow Super Giants wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock said that winning such close games is always good for team morale.

It was a complete team effort as Lucknow Super Giants chased down a big target of 211 in 19.3 overs against Chennai Super Kings to register a six-wicket win here at Brabourne Stadium.

“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. 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,” said de Kock in a post-match presentation.

“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 added.

Chennai Super Kings batters Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube batted well and took Lucknow bowlers to the cleaners but there was one bowler on the Lucknow side who bagged two wickets and conceded only 24 runs in four overs.

Ayush Badoni has been a real find for Lucknow as the youngster clicked in the first match of the season scoring a half-century and in the successful chase against CSK, the youngster scored an unbeaten 19 from 9-balls to guide his team to a six-wicket win.

After registering their maiden win in the IPL, Lucknow Super Giants will now take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their next encounter on April 4 at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.