Quinton de Kock Capitalises on Purple Patch in Second Coming

Quinton de Kock is in the midst of a purple patch with the bat. In his last four one-day international innings, he has hit three centuries. In the fourth Test against England in Centurion, he finally broke his drought by registering his first century. (Jos Buttler Leads England To Victory in Rain-Marred ODI)

During the ODI in Johannesburg, De Kock took his batting to an all-new level. Chasing a daunting 400 after Jos Buttler smashed a 73-ball century, de Kock responded by smashing a century off 67 balls, his ninth in ODIs.

South Africa seemed to on course and de Kock looked unstoppable, but rain and cramps denied South Africa the chance to salvage an unbelievable win as they lost the match by 39 runs courtesy Duckworth-Lewis method.

Speaking about the knock, de Kock, who also became the youngest to go past 2000 runs said, "I haven't scored a hundred like that in a while so it was nice to stay in. Unfortunately with the rain I couldn't carry the team. I would have liked to have done that but I'm sure I will get plenty of more opportunities."

De Kock admitted that had the rain not intervened, South Africa would have done their best to overhaul England's massive score.

The second ODI takes place in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. With the hosts trailing 0-1 in the five-match series, they will be hoping to reverse their fortunes at this venue, where they have lost the last two ODIs to Pakistan and West Indies.