Jofra Archer's Sportsman Spirit Questioned After Bowling Wides To Quinton De Kock
Quinton de Kock had an opportunity to complete his hundred during the closing stages of the game but remained stranded on 97.
England and Rajasthan Royals pacer Jofra Archer was slammed on social media on Wednesday after he bowled two wides in the 18th over of Kolkata Knight Riders’ innings to Quinton de Kock to allegedly ‘deny’ him a century in their IPL 2025 encounter in Guwahati.
Opting to bowl, Kolkata’s disciplined bowling attack, led by their spin duo Varun Chakravarthy (2/17) and Moeen Ali (2/23), restricted Rajasthan to a below-par 151/9.
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Even as de Kock did not have a particular reaction to being denied a hundred, several fans on social media aimed at Archer, claiming that the latter bowled two wides to prevent de Kock from reaching his century.
“Sportsman spirit/Spirit of the game was under question today due to the actions of Jofra Archer in the last over to deny QDK his well-earned 100," a user tweeted on Wednesday night.
Sportsman spirit/Spirit of the game was under question today due to the actions of Jofra Archer in the last over to deny QDK his well earned 100. No wonder its coming from a questionable franchise such as Rajasthan Royals. pic.twitter.com/rVa3gzp1ms— ayan (@TheUpperCut_) March 26, 2025
“It would’ve been a century if Archer didn’t bowl wides on purpose," another user replied to Kolkata’s ’97 >>>’ post.
wouldve been century if archer didn’t bowl wides on purpose https://t.co/p6GXvgfGCy— Soni Raj Singh (@SoniDreams_) March 26, 2025
In response to Rajasthan’s 151, De Kock remained 97 not out from 61 deliveries, his innings laced with eight boundaries and six sixes, as Kolkata chased down the target in the 18th over.
Despite the challenging nature of the pitch, de Kock showed controlled aggression, timing the ball well while ensuring that Kolkata’s chase remained on track.
The chase was never in trouble, with the required run rate hovering around run-a-ball, and de Kock carried his bat to take Kolkata over the line.
Kolkata lost Moeen Ali (5) and captain Ajinkya Rahane (18) early, but De Kock held one end firm, finding an able partner in young Angkrish Raghuvanshi 22 (17 balls).
The duo stitched together an unbroken 83-run stand that came off just 44 deliveries, sealing the first victory for Kolkata this season.
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