Captain Quinny stars as clinical Proteas square T20 series
A possibly overconfident Indian team becomes unstuck as their opponents calmly keep their heads and do some clever things.
Quinton De Kock captain of South Africa playing a shot during the 3rd T20 International match between India and South Africa at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium on September 22, 2019 in Bengaluru, India. (Photo by Isuru Sameera Peris/Gallo Images)
Quinton de Kock is rapidly providing ample evidence that he enjoys captaincy after leading from the front as the Proteas squared the T20 series against India with a comprehensive nine-wicket win in Bangalore on Sunday.
Despite only being given a mediocre target of 135, the gifted wicketkeeper-batsman still displayed the highest class in crafting a masterful, unbeaten 79 off just 52 deliveries.
That effort was rendered even more special when considered the state of the wicket, which was on the slow side.
De Kock was calculated at the start, making a point of picking the right balls to hit before unleashing his typically fearsome hitting ability, ending with five sixes and making the Indian attack look threadbare.
He also passed 1000 T20 International runs.
It truly was a magnificent effort that allowed his two other partners, Reeza Hendricks (28) and Temba Bavuma (27 not out) to play their more natural, calmer games.
Yet the foundation for this encouraging victory was laid in the field, where South Africa did superbly to restrict a power-packed batting line-up.
De Kock also deserved credit for his contribution here, rotating his bowlers well.
Kagiso Rabada, without quite finding his straps, was statistically the most successful bowler on the night with 3/39, which included the key wicket of Virat Kohli, who fell to a fine catch by Bavuma at deep square.
The men who took the pace off the ball though were the real heroes.
Left-arm seamer Beuran Hendricks, in the side for Anrich Nortje, fully justified his selection with a superb spell of 2/14 from his four overs, while Tabraiz Shamsi settled down well after dismissing Shikhar Dhawan (36) to claim 1/23.
Fellow tweaker Bjorn Fortuin, opening the bowling, bowled intelligently, particularly in deceiving the dangerous Rishabh Pant with a wider one outside off.
Whether this nice confidence booster spills over to the Test side though remains to be seen.
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