The last time Quinton de Kock batted at three was 12 years ago. It came against Pakistan in Gqeberha, where he scored 47. Between then and now, de Kock has gone on to amass thousands of runs, retired from One-Day Internationals (ODI) and has now returned to the Proteas squad with the aim of playing the 2027 World Cup.
Since his return to the ODI set up, de Kock had scored 63, 123* and 53, all as an opener. However, on November 30 (Sunday) in the first ODI against India, de Kock was dismissed for a two-ball duck – his fifth in ODIs.
Quinton de Kock at No. 3 in ODIs
3 inns, 66 runs, 22.0 average
Scores:
19 vs PAK, Cape Town, 2013
47 vs PAK, Gqeberha, 2013
0 vs IND, Ranchi, 2025
Temba Bavuma, who would have slotted in at three, has been rested for this match. That gave an opportunity to Ryan Rickelton to open alongside Aiden Markram, leaving de Kock to bat at three, which did not pay off.
Incidentally, Harshit Rana got rid of Rickelton and de Kock in a span of three deliveries to get India off to a perfect start. He first got rid of Rickelton bowled with the ball darting back in and two balls later, de Kock was caught behind after he chased a wide delivery.
Set a target of 350, South Africa are already three wickets down at the end of the first powerplay. They have a mountain to climb if they are to get over the line in this match.
