South African wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock registered his name in the history books during the ongoing match against Afghanistan in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. The left-handed batsman overtook former batsman AB de Villiers to become the leading run-scorer for the Proteas in the T20 World Cup.
South Africa were asked to bat first after losing the toss in their second match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, 11 February. De Kock opened the batting with captain Aiden Markram. Fazalhaq Farooqui provided the early success, as Markram scored 5 runs from 8 balls.
Quinton de Kock scored fourth half-century for South Africa in T20 World Cup.
After the initial shock, Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton saved the team by making an important partnership for the second wicket. He added 114 runs off 61 balls against a quality bowling attack from Afghanistan including Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmed and Mohammad Nabi.
Rashid broke this partnership by dismissing De Kock in his third over. De Kock was out after scoring 59 runs in 41 balls, which included five fours and three sixes. The left-handed batsman completed his half-century in 34 balls. Notably, this was his fourth half-century for South Africa in the T20 World Cup.
Quinton de Kock has become the leading run-scorer for South Africa in the T20 World Cup.
During his innings, De Kock also broke the record of most runs for South Africa in the T20 World Cup. The wicketkeeper-batsman entered the match with 678 runs from 28 matches.
He went ahead of AB de Villiers in the list of highest run-scorers for South Africa in the T20 World Cup. The former Proteas captain scored 717 runs in ICC tournaments in the shorter format. JP Duminy (568), David Miller (462) and Aiden Markram (448) are also in the list.
Most runs for South Africa in T20 World Cup:
| player | Matchbox | it goes | average | strike rate | 50/100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| quinton de kock | 29 | 737 | 26.32 | 134.24 | 5/0 |
| AB de Villiers | 30 | 717 | 29.87 | 143.40 | 5/0 |
| JP Duminy | 25 | 568 | 40.57 | 129.68 | 2/0 |
| david miller | 29 | 467 | 33.35 | 120.98 | 2/0 |
| aiden markram | 21 | 448 | 26.35 | 127.27 | 4/0 |
| jacques calis | 15 | 433 | 36.08 | 117.66 | 3/0 |
Quinton de Kock shines as South Africa’s T20 mainstay
De Kock has played an important role for South Africa in modern cricket. He has performed well across all formats and remains one of the most reliable top-order batsmen of the team.
His best T20 World Cup innings came in the 2024 edition. He scored 74 runs in 40 balls with 7 fours and 5 sixes against hosts USA at North Sound, as South Africa won the match by 18 runs.
The southpaw is South Africa’s leading run-scorer in T20Is, having scored 2,998 runs in 104 matches at an average of 31.89 and a strike rate of 142.42.
He is one of only three South African batsmen with multiple T20I centuries (2) and has added 19 half-centuries. His contribution will be crucial in South Africa’s dream of winning their first T20 World Cup in India.
Also read: Dale Steyn becomes Afghanistan’s bowling coach during the match against South Africa in T20 World Cup 2026
