Quinton de Kock Matches AB de Villiers' Record in Thrilling ODI Showdown

De Kock's Historic Century in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam: In a remarkable display of skill, South African wicket-keeper batsman Quinton de Kock matched the record set by AB de Villiers for the most centuries by a visiting player in India during the third ODI at ACA-VDCA Stadium on Saturday.

De Kock, alongside captain Temba Bavuma, forged a solid partnership of 113 runs for the second wicket. He later teamed up with Matthew Breetzke to add another 54 runs, reaching his century off just 80 balls in the 30th over.

With this century, de Kock now stands equal with de Villiers, both having seven centuries in India, ahead of West Indies' Chris Gayle, who has six.

This achievement also places de Kock on par with Sanath Jayasuriya for the most centuries against India in ODIs. De Kock reached this milestone in only 23 innings, significantly quicker than Jayasuriya's 85 innings. Other players with six ODI centuries against India include AB de Villiers (32 innings), Ricky Ponting (59 innings), and Kumar Sangakkara (71 innings).

De Kock has now accumulated 23 ODI centuries while playing as a wicketkeeper, tying with Kumar Sangakkara for the highest total of centuries by a designated keeper.

In surpassing David Warner, Sourav Ganguly, and Tillakaratne Dilshan, de Kock's 23rd century places him ahead of these legends, who each have 22.

Indian bowler Prasidh Krishna dismissed de Kock shortly after he reached his century, as the batter attempted to play a shot across the line, resulting in a clean bowled.

After suffering a 0-2 defeat in the Test series, India managed to clinch the first ODI by 17 runs in Ranchi, but South Africa bounced back in the second match in Raipur, successfully chasing a target of over 350 runs to win by four wickets.