Quinton de Kock hit a half-century on Sunday in his first 2023 IPL appearance for the Lucknow Super Giants.
The Proteas opener had not been selected until now – his team’s 10th match of the campaign – due to the IPL limit of four foreigners in a playing XI.
De Kock had been kept out of the side by West Indian Kyle Mayers, who took his place at the start of the IPL when he was on ODI duty for the Proteas against the Netherlands.
However, on Sunday, both Mayers and De Kock opened the batting as Lucknow were set 228 to win by the Gujarat Titans.
Mayers made 48 off 32 balls and De Kock 71 off 42 (seven fours and three sixes) before being bowled by Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan as Lucknow ended up losing by 56 runs.
In the first IPL match with two teams captained by brothers, Lucknow’s Krunal won the toss and elected to field at the world’s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.
The brothers joked and hugged at the start but things turned serious when a destructive opening stand of 142 between Wriddhiman Saha (81 off 43 balls) and Shubman Gill (94* off 51) powered Gujarat to their highest IPL total of 227-2.
Lucknow put up a spirited reply with Mayers and De Kock leading the charge but they ended on 171-7 to allow Gujarat to consolidate their top spot in the 10-team table.
Saha, a diminutive wicketkeeper-batsman, set up Gujarat’s domination with sixes and fours to reach his fifty in just 20 balls before he fell to Avesh Khan.
Hardik and Gill extended the batting onslaught but the younger Pandya departed after Krunal took his catch. He made 25 off 15 balls.
The in-form Gill, who struck his fourth fifty of the season, put on another fiery stand with South Africa’s David Miller, who smashed 21* off 12 balls, as Gujarat finished on this year’s fourth-highest team total.
The left-handed Mayers began the chase strongly as he hit Hardik for a hat-trick of boundaries and then took on Mohammed Shami in a 19-run over.
India fast bowler Mohit Sharma sent back Mayers to break an 88-run opening stand and later took down dangerous Australian batsman Marcus Stoinis to dent the chase.
After De Kock’s dismissal, the Lucknow chase fell off track.
Krunal was out for a first-ball duck off Mohit, who returned figures of 4-29.
