Dugout News : Run feast and a rare feat

And what a cracking game it emerged. Lucknow Super Giants taking the field to bat first, KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock resumed their roles as openers. Counted as one of the best opening pairs, the Lucknow duo smashed 210 runs in a single inning against Kolkata Knight Riders. Overall, they notched up 1039 runs in 14 innings together. Both the Lucknow Super Giants openers remained unbeaten – Quinton de Kock 140* off 70 balls and KL Rahul 68* off 51 balls – and registered the most significant opening partnership in the history of the IPL – 210 runs. This is also the first time in the IPL that a team hasn't lost a single wicket in 20 overs.

The duo has been in the best form this season at the opening stand. They both were best at the shot selection, shredding away all the bowling attacks of Kolkata Knight Riders and leaving them in dismay. While KL Rahul kept it simple, rotating strikes, he enjoyed Quinton's not-seen power-hitting avatar last night. The blistering hitting in death overs when Quinton smashed 38 runs in the final ten balls. 

Looking at such a powerful display of partnership, nobody could stop showering praises for the duo on Twitter. Some thread of tweets read as:

Skipper KL Rahul, in the post-match conference, said, "I was a spectator today in the last few overs. Quintom was striking the ball so crisply and cleanly.

Wisden India tweeted, "Highest opening partnerships in IPL history:

210* – Quinton de Kock & KL Rahul (2022)

185 – Jonny Bairstow & David Warner (2019)

184* – Gautam Gambhir & Chris Lynn (2017)

#IPL2022 #Qdk #LSGvsKKR”

"What a buy Quinton de Kock has been for #LSG!! This is some opening combo! Cover all bases." tweets Harsha Bhogle 

One of the fans tweeted about KL Rahul's consistency

"659 runs in IPL 2018.

593 runs in IPL 2019.

670 runs in IPL 2020.

626 runs in IPL 2021.

503* runs in IPL 2022.

KL Rahul is on a roll in the IPL - totally in a different league in terms of consistency."

Wasim Jaffer tweeted, "This is a superb knock from @QuinnyDeKock69! He's a good batter vs pace but the way he took on spinners and especially Narine tonight was the standout. Well played #LSGvsKKR #IPL2022.”

'Rarest of rare' kind of hitting by Rinku Singh and Sunil Narine

The evening got intense with the power-hitting shown by KKR's underdogs. While the opening stand of KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock stole the show, KKR batters didn't give in easily. While Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer and Sam Billings tried to play, anchoring the innings for their team after the departure of openers, 69 off 26 was the equation when Rinku Singh arrived at the crease. With Russell still on the crease, he was expected to win it for the team. However, he got out after six deliveries, and 61 were needed off 20 balls. And there came the power-hitting from Narine and Rinku Singh with a strike rate of over 250-plus, reducing the required number to 21 needed in 6 balls. Despite getting so close and holding on nerves to take the team to such a level, they lost the match by two runs as Evin Lewis pulled a splendid one-hand catch to dismiss Rinku Singh on the penultimate ball. 

RP Singh tweeted, "It was always @LucknowIPL's match to lose, but what an incredible inning by #rinkusingh ! He must be disappointed for being so near yet far, but we should be proud of such a cameo! #LSGvKKR #KKRvsLSG #KKRvLSG #RPSwing.”

"Heart goes out to Rinku Singh, who played splendidly and got out to a good catch. What a brave innings, little boy. More is coming your way. #LSGvsKKR #TATAIPL” wrote Amit Mishra.