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South African opener Quinton de Kock’s scored a dominant 60-ball 112 not out as Mumbai Indians (MI) posted 195-6 against Punjab Kings in their allotted 20 overs at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Put into bat, MI suffered two big losses in the third over itself — Ryan Rickelton (2) and one-drop Suryakumar Yadav (0) — with the score reading 12-2, but De Kock came to the rescue, smashing eight fours and seven sixes during his unbeaten prolific innings. MI finished the first 10 overs on 97-2.
Playing his first match of the season, De Kock, who replaced Rohit Sharma (hamstring injury), proved his mettle by reaching his half-century off just 28 balls. He first targeted Punjab leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (0-45), smashing him for a six and four in his first over. Punjab medium pacer Shashank Singh (1-19) got hammered for two successive sixes in the 16th over as De Kock reached his third IPL century in just 53 balls.
Excellent footwork, early judgment of the line and length and perfect placement in the gaps were some of the highlights of the South African’s innings.
No. 4 Naman Dhir (31-ball 50, 3×4, 3×6) offered good support as the duo stitched a 68-ball 122 run third-wicket stand.
112*
No. of runs scored by Quinton de Kock on Thursday — the second-highest individual score for Mumbai Indians
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