Quinton de Kock's performance against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Match 6 of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025) captivated former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson. De Kock led the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to their first victory of the season with an incredible knock of 97* (61), hitting eight fours and six sixes. Thanks to his effort, KKR won the match by eight wickets after easily chasing down the target of 152 in 17.3 overs.
Shane Watson on Quinton de Kock
According to Watson, De Kock was at his vintage best and was full of praise for him after their triumph. In addition to mentioning his pull shot against Jofra Archer, the former all-rounder stated that Kolkata will gain a great deal of confidence from his batting.
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"It was definitely a comfortable chase, and Quinton de Kock was simply outstanding tonight. That was vintage Quinton de Kock—the kind of brilliance we've seen over the last 10 to 15 years, whether in the IPL or on the international stage. He executed his shots beautifully. That pull shot he played off Jofra Archer over mid-wicket—my goodness—it was a testament to the sublime form he's in. This performance will give KKR tremendous confidence, knowing they have such explosive firepower in their middle order. It’s a significant confidence-boosting win for KKR tonight,” said Watson on JioHotstar.
Because of his game-winning innings, the wicketkeeper batsman was rightfully named Player of the Match. Earlier, Moeen Ali took Sunil Narine's spot as KKR's star all-round player after an injury sidelined the former. At Guwahati, the off-spinner made an impression by obtaining a solid surface purchase.
In his four overs, he conceded just 23 runs while taking two wickets. Varun Chakravarthy, who also took 2/17 in four overs and assisted in holding Rajasthan to 151/9 in their 20 overs, provided him with strong support. With an innings of 33 (28), Dhruv Jurel was the only player from RR to mount a challenge. At Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Kolkata will next play the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Monday, March 31.