Navi Mumbai  (TIP)- Quinton de Kock showed imperious form in his 80 off 52 balls as Lucknow Super Giants outplayed Delhi Capitals by six wickets for their third successive win in their debut IPL season here on April 7. Delhi Capitals lost their way after a sizzling knock from opener Prithvi Shaw (61 off 31) to end at 149/3 after Lucknow decided to field first.

With the resources that Lucknow possess, 150 should have been a comfortable chase and the KL Rahul-led side made sure it was, getting home with two balls to spare on a tricky surface.

De Kock was at his destructive best as he shared a 73-run stand with opening partner Rahul (24 off 25). After Rahul’s fall, his team needed 76 off the last 10 overs. De Kock, who hit nine fours and two sixes, put the team on the cusp of victory with his second 50-plus score of the tournament.

Earlier, Shaw’s knock was all class before Lucknow bounced back in the game with an impressive bowling performance. Young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (2/22) was the standout performer.

David Warner (4 off 12), returning to the franchise where he made his IPL debut back in 2009, struggled in his first innings of the season. Brief scores: Delhi Capitals: 149/3 (Shaw 61, Pant 39*, Khan 36*; Bishnoi 2/22); Lucknow Super Giants: 155/4 in 19.4 overs (de Kock 80; Kuldeep 2/31).

Nortje hurls himself out

A target of 150 amid dew was going to need a miracle or a meltdown to defend, but DC did put in a few quiet overs at the start. On came their retained speedster Anrich Nortje for his first match in five months since the T20 World Cup, and Quinton de Kock burst to life against his compatriot.

A slap past extra cover followed by two lovely straight drives and topped up by a pick-up six produced a 19-run over, and LSG were on their way.

By the time Nortje came back in the 14th, de Kock had gone past fifty and the ball was wet. Nortje ripped two beamers in two overs, one each at de Kock and Deepak Hooda. The first one was fended for six over short third man, the second one took Nortje out of the attack. Kuldeep Yadav came on to finish Nortje’s over, and after copping a couple of fours, succeeded in luring de Kock to step out and slice a heave to short third man on 80 off 52.

Different game after QDK

Like with DC in the wake of Shaw, LSG lost steam after de Kock’s departure. Even with a mere 28 needed off 24 balls, the re-minted pairing of Krunal Pandya and Hooda struggled against the changes of pace and full lengths of Shardul Thakur and Mustafizur Rahman for a couple of overs.