Shrewdness and flair - the paradoxical rudiments of the underappreciated genius that is Quinton de Kock

Roughly two months ago, Quinton de Kock and Reece Topley walked out to the field together for the SA20 2024 final for the Durban's Super Giants against the Sunrisers Eastern Cape. Fast forward to the present, the duo were up against each other to kickstart the clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, and in hindsight, it was a battle that defined the outcome, despite not being in the spotlight.

The South African batter did not look elegant by any means as Topley got the new ball talking. There were wild slogs that only connected air, there were shots that did not come off the middle of the bat, and the ball had sought residence on both edges of the bat, but de Kock hung on somehow.

He managed to score three fours in the very first over, but the ball was not in de Kock's court by any means.

Taking advantage of RCB's well-documented reputation of being erratic, the left-handed batter got into a groove as RCB switched around bowlers frantically in the powerplay. It was against Mohammed Siraj particularly that de Kock found solace, hitting two consecutive sixes to announce himself.

Before dwelling deeper into his knock, it is important to decipher the conditions as they shed more light on de Kock's contribution and inflate it. With Chinnaswamy just not Chinnaswamying anymore (if that makes sense), de Kock could not blindly switch gears after settling in. After the onslaught on Siraj in the third over, the left-handed batter only scored one boundary off his next 24 deliveries.

For the second game in a row, the venue sported an unconventional two-paced pitch. The slowness of the pitch has somehow neutered the boundary dimensions, taking mammoth run fests out of the equation. Now whether that is just a conscious effort on the franchise's part to spike their home win percentage or just a coincidence, we might not know, at least for now. The grass did bring the extra bounce into the picture, but it did not change the nature of the pitch too much from last time around, just as RCB skipper Faf du Plessis had remarked during the toss.

All of this made things a bit tricky for LSG after being put into bat, but the value of a well-set Quinton de Kock at one end was worth its weight in gold.

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De Kock swapped perfection for effectiveness to produce a vintage knock

De Kock had a control of 64 percent in his innings, which tells you how shakily the surface played. By the middle overs, RCB had dug deep into their so-called spin attack while the pacers began a barrage of cutters too.

The Proteas ace waited patiently and bored the fruits of grinding it out during his match-up against Maxwell.

He pulled the trigger after reaching his fifty, taking advantage of Green's pace-on deliveries and hitting three boundaries in the space of four balls to revive LSG's innings. However, LSG and de Kock succumbed to the slowness of the pitch eventually, and the final act by Nicholas Pooran proved to be the factor that stretched LSG's total from a par one to an above-par one.

De Kock's 81 runs off 56 deliveries will not be remembered as his greatest-ever IPL knock. Hell, it might not even make it to the top five, but that does not take away the effort he put into adapting to the conditions and playing according to the situation perfectly.

It might, however, just be recalled as a shrewd knock of the highest order, as to how he worked around the conditions to leave an impression. The innings did not have the usual flair that de Kock usually brings with him, and understandably so, but it did have elements of class through sporadic moments.

The ratio of being shrewd and being elegant changes every game for de Kock, this game required shrewdness of the highest order to maneuver the conditions, which is exactly what he did, and none of the RCB batters did. In some other game, we might witness all class and grace from de Kock and just a tiny bit of cunningness, for it is undroppable regardless of the condition or situation.

By the end of the first innings, de Kock's knock seemed to be just a regular knock, one that helped his team post a huge score, witnessed in almost all matches these days. However, after RCB's crippled batting display where hardly any batter had any say at all, de Kock's contribution skyrocketed tenfold in value. One might say that de Kock did not have to face Mayank Yadav's searing spell, but that is hardly an argument.

His knock might not have had elegance, but it had logic. The innings may have been devoid of flow, but to LSG's benefit, it had grit. He may have been dropped throughout the innings, but the important thing is that he made the most of the second chance.

Anchoring knocks are becoming a rarity as time passes by, but this was truly a knock that defied modernity and appeased the T20 traditionalists (Yes, there is such a breed).

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De Kock's art of thriving under the radar

Despite playing 330 T20 matches in his career, amounting to nearly 10,000 runs in the format, de Kock has never been the 'star attraction' of any team in his career. The South African had a rough start to the IPL, and has had a couple of shaky seasons in the past, but is one of the most reliable openers going around at present.

He has crossed the 500-run mark for a season twice since 2020, playing a key role in MI's title win in the 2020 season and LSG's run to the playoffs in 2022. His ability to quietly go about his business and simultaneously make a lasting impact is what makes him such a valuable player.

Even in the aftermath of the triumph against RCB, the spotlight will be on Mayank Yadav, and rightly so, given what he has brought to the table. But the wicket-keeper batter's value does not diminish a bit, as those who appreciate the game, appreciate him as well.

De Kock made the headlines in 2021 when he refused to take a knee during the T20 World Cup. However, if he keeps this form going, it will not be a surprise if a legion of fans in Lucknow bends their knees in solidarity.

LSG are in seventh heaven at the minute following two back-to-back wins. While Mayank Yadav is basking in the spotlight, it has been a set of complete team performances, with the likes of de Kock, Pooran, and even M Siddharth playing their roles to perfection, So, to quote Gen Z, 'LSG are cooking.'