Quinton de Kock kept his composure and took a brilliant catch to send back Riyan Parag in the ongoing game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.
The onus was on Parag to steady the ship and lay the foundation for a big total after Sanju Samson was dismissed by Vaibhav Arora. The KKR pacer gave his team a flying start by sending back the dangerous Samson for just 13 runs in the fourth over.
Rajasthan crushed by KKR
After Samson’s departure, Parag joined Yashasvi Jaiswal in the middle. The stand-in Royals captain had a forgettable outing in the previous game against Sunrisers Hyderabad as he was out for just 4. He would have liked to make amends against KKR and started his innings on a positive note.
He hit three sixes in no time to race away to 25 runs. However, Parag’s ultra-aggressive approach eventually led to his downfall. On the final ball of the eighth over, bowled by Varun Chakaravarthy, he decided to play a big shot. He had already hit one six in the over but still decided to go for another and paid the price for it.
Also Read: Watch: Vaibhav Arora crushes Sanju Samson’s tumps; gives him a fiery sendoff
It was a length delivery just outside the off stump from the KKR spin spearhead, and Parag ended up edging it straight over his head. The ball went high, and Quinton de Kock decided to go for it.
While it was a challenging catch, it was not a very tough one. However, Quinton de Kock made it a special catch with his audacious gesture. Soon after calling for the catch, the South Africa star showed remarkable audacity.
While the ball was in the air, Quinton de Kock unstrapped his helmet and placed himself under the ball before completing a fine catch.
Watch the catch from Quinton de Kock:
— crictalk (@crictalk7) March 26, 2025
Rajasthan Royals in trouble:
Rajasthan Royals will need a special effort from their middle-order to post a good total. At the time of writing this report, they were reeling at 69/3 in the ninth over. Just two runs after Parag’s departure, Jaiswal departed as well.
The southpaw was dismissed by veteran all-rounder Moeen Ali when he tried to play a big shot but ended up miscuing the shot straight to Vaibhav Arora at long-on.
