South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock, who recently reversed his ODI retirement, has looked in blistering form since his return. After slamming a whirlwind fifty in the first Pakistan vs South Africa ODI, the 32-year-old gave a testament to his sheer skills with a stellar century in the ongoing PAK vs SA 2nd ODI.
QdK put up a performance right off the top shelf, reaching the three-digit mark in 96 balls, courtesy of seven boundaries and six maximums. In the process, he also built a 100-plus run stand for the second wicket with Tony de Zorzi as the Proteas cruised towards an easy win. The Quinton de Kock century now puts him just one ton away from matching Kumar Sangakkara for most ODI tons by a wicketkeeper (23).
Once a behemoth in the format, the veteran left-hander continued his domination despite the hiatus when he quit playing ODIs after the 2023 ODI World Cup. Furthermore, his recent heroics will be a strong warning to India as well, who are slated to lock horns next with the Proteas for a three-ODI series from November 30.
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Speaking about the PAK vs SA 2nd ODI, QdK’s blinder helped the visitors level the series at 1-1 after losing the opener. Pakistan batted first and managed 269/9 in 50 overs, courtesy of three fifties from Saim Ayub (53 off 66 balls), Salman Ali Agha (69 off 106 balls) and Mohammad Nawaz (59 off 59 balls). For South Africa, Nandre Burger took four scalps while Nqabayomzi Peter took three wickets.
Coming to the chase, Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Qdk gave South Africa a flying start with a quickfire 81-run stand before LdP departed for 46, narrowly missing out on his fifty. Qdk continued the assault from the other end with Tony de Zorzi complementing his partner brilliantly with a deft knock of 76. Quinton eventually remained unbeaten on 123 to help the Proteas cross the finishing line with ease and seal an 8-wicket win.
The decisive third and final ODI is slated to be played on November 8 (Saturday).
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