South Africa’s experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock has achieved a major feat by defeating India’s batting superstar Virat Kohli in the ongoing third and final ODI in Visakhapatnam.
Quinton de Kock scored his seventh century against India. He reached 100 runs in just 80 balls by hitting his sixth six off Harshit Rana in the ODI series decider on Saturday, 3 December. With this brilliant century, De Kock now holds the record for most centuries against India in ODIs.
Quinton de Kock overtook Virat Kohli in terms of scoring a century in ODIs.
Quinton de Kock achieved the feat in just 23 innings and became the fastest player to do so. The Proteas opener now shares the record of seven centuries against India with Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya, who achieved the feat in 85 innings. AB de Villiers, Ricky Ponting and Kumar Sangakkara have six centuries each against India.
ALSO READ: Rohit Sharma brutally shuts down Kuldeep Yadav’s repeated DRS requests, sends him back in Vizag ODI
Additionally, a major record-breaking moment was witnessed in Visakhapatnam as De Kock overtook Virat Kohli to become the most efficient century-scorer in ODI cricket history when it comes to converting half-centuries into centuries.
The 32-year-old batsman now has the best conversion rate among players who have batted in at least 100 innings in ODIs. His success rate is an astonishing 41.81%, which puts him slightly ahead of Kohli’s 41.40%. South Africa’s Hashim Amla is at the third position with 40.91%, followed by former Australian opener David Warner with 40% and West Indies batsman Shai Hope at the third position with 38.78%.
Quinton de Kock equals Kumar Sangakkara; Joins elite club with 7 centuries in overseas ODIs
Meanwhile, Quinton de Kock has become one of the most prolific wicketkeeper-batsmen in ODI cricket with 23 centuries as he equaled Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara for the most centuries by a designated wicketkeeper in the format.
Shai Hope (19) is second in the list, followed by Australian stalwart Adam Gilchrist (16), Jos Buttler (11), and AB de Villiers and MS Dhoni – both of whom have 10 centuries each.
Additionally, De Kock has joined an elite group of batsmen by scoring seven ODI centuries overseas. He has equaled the records of legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Saeed Anwar, who scored seven centuries in the UAE; AB de Villiers, who also scored seven ODI centuries in India; And Rohit Sharma, who also has seven ODI centuries to his name in England.
Also Read: Virat Kohli pulls Kuldeep Yadav into romantic ‘couple dance’ during Vizag ODI, video breaks the internet
Prasidh Krishna and Kuldeep Yadav shine in bowling out Proteas for 270 runs in Vizag ODI
Meanwhile, India made a strong comeback as Prasidh Krishna bowled brilliantly, taking four wickets and helping his team bowl out South Africa for 270 runs. The fast bowler justified the faith reposed by head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain KL Rahul as he broke important partnerships by dismissing Matthew Britzke, Aiden Markram and Centurion de Kock in the middle overs.
Kuldeep Yadav also took four wickets, keeping the Proteas under pressure. To add to South Africa’s problems, India’s fielding was top class. Despite a valiant effort of 106 from De Kock, South Africa could not push the total further. Captain Temba Bavuma was another standout batsman for them against India with 48 runs off 67 balls.
With the three-match ODI series tied at 1-1, India need to win the Vizag decider to secure the series and avoid rare consecutive ODI series defeats on home soil.
