IPL 2016: I feel proud, was waiting for a chance like this, says Quinton de Kock after DD vs RCB match

New Delhi: A day of the underdogs... That's how one may analyse things, considering the results on Sunday in IPL IX. While the Kings XI Punjab, beaten in their first two matches, bounced back to defeat a formidable Rising Pune Supergiants in Mohali, the Delhi DareDevils rode Quinton de Kock's marvellous 108 and his 134-run stand with Karun Nair to chase down an imposing 192-run target and upset Royal Challengers Bangalore by seven wickets at the Chinnaswamy. KXIP's bowlers and their openers - Manan Vohra and Murali Vijay - were the stars in their team's victory. But the hero of the day was De Kock.

Playing just seven dot balls before getting dismissed, the South wicketkeeper-batsman unleashed proper cricketing strokes, slogging on very few occasions. He later put it down to finding the boundaries instead of trying for big sixes on a good batting wicket and fast outfield. "I was hoping for one of those days to come. It was a good wicket and I just had to capitalise when I could. I just focused on playing good cricket shots, as I believed they would have got us here. "Since it's a fast outfield here, I didn't try to hit too many big sixes. I just tried to get the boundaries and run ones and twos," De Kock said at the post-match presentation. Speaking about his match-turning partnership with Nair, De Kock said: "It was a special effort... When Karun came in, the game plan was to build a partnership. "We knew boundary balls would come. So, we just had to dig deep and keep on batting." De Kock has been in top form over the last few months. And he wants to keep it going. "I was waiting for a chance like this. It's nice to contribute to the team's success all the time... Am happy about it, so just want to keep trying and doing it... I feel proud," De Kock said. Captain Zaheer Khan too was a very happy man after such a fantastic win. "It's a special effort by both Quinton and Karun. "We knew this ground was a high-scoring one, but the way they applied themselves in the middle was truly amazing," Zaheer said. "Of course, there has to be a special mention for Mohammed Shami and Chris Morris as well. Their spells were crucial at that stage. We modified our plans in the game situation and because of that, we had a good chance of chasing down the total. "In fact, my bad over helped me figure out what would work on this wicket. So, I told the bowlers to bowl back of a length. "The guys have shown great character so far. In a tournament like the IPL, momentum always helps and these kinds of games matter very much," Zaheer added. For rival captain Virat Kohli, this defeat was a tough pill to swallow. "We lost (Shane) Watson at a critical stage while I didn't get strike for eight balls. I think we were about 10-15 runs short. "But credit to the DareDevils for the way they batted, especially Quinton. He took the game away from us." Lauding the efforts of Nair, Kohli added: "Karun also deserves credit for hanging around. We thought we could get to 200 or more, but Shami, Morris and (Carlos) Brathwaite bowled well in the middle, executing their plans really well. "We thought it was a two-paced wicket because it seemed difficult to get the ball away. Unfortunately for us, no one stepped up with the ball. It happens in cricket, though." Kohli's message to RCB bowlers is loud and clear - they need to buck up. "We need to believe we can get batsmen out every ball. If a batsman senses that the bowler is reluctant or hesitant, he is going to sense it and get on top of the latter," Kohli said. In the last four overs of their innings, 27 runs were all RCB could manage. Only one six and a four could be hit during this period. No wonder the DareDevils bowlers deserve more than a pat on their backs for pulling things back so well, especially after their skipper went for 21 in over No. 15.