Quinton de Kock, South Africa's baby-faced assassin

South Africa's rising star Quinton de Kock, who on Wednesday joined the elite company of cricketers with a third consecutive century against India, is seen by many as a perfect replacement for Graeme Smith as an opener in One Day Internationals.

With injury-prone Test skipper Smith in and out of the side, De Kock has grabbed the opportunity with both hands to open the innings for South Africa with his top-level performance. Moreover, South Africa ODI skipper AB de Villiers calls him the best bet for opener's slot at the moment. Smith left the squad after the first ODI against India, because apparently, he wasn't needed unless there was an injury. "No, I don't think so...If Smith has to play, it has to be as an opener," de Villiers had said.

De Kock notched up his third successive ODI ton in the third and final tie at Centurion to become the fifth player to score three consecutive hundreds after Zaheer Abbas, Saeed Anwar, Herschelle Gibbs and De Villiers. His first two of the series were in Johannesburg and Durban, respectively. De Kock became only the second player after Zaheer Abbas to score hundreds in the same bilateral series. This century also helped him take his batting average at home to 50.00 in ODIs -- with 500 runs in 10 innings.

"He bats with such maturity and patience, yet scores quickly," Geoffrey Toyana, head coach of the Highveld Lions, the franchise de Kock plays for in South Africa's premier domestic T20 competition.

De Kock also went past Ireland's Paul Stirling to record four ODI centuries before turning 21. De Kock was born on December 17, 1992 in Gauteng in Johannesburg. Not only this, with his solid form at the top of the order, the 20-year-old also became the third batsman after New Zealand's Martin Guptill and Zimbabwe's Brendan Taylor to score 300-plus runs in a three-match series. He finished with 342 runs.

De Kock was spotted as schoolboy talent at the King Edward VII High School, the alma mata of Smith and former batsman Neil McKenzie. He was first picked to play for South Africa's Under-19 side for 2012 World Cup in Australia. He hit 284 runs in six matches at 48.33 with one century Down Under. His good form during the tournament led to him earn a place in South African senior team and he made his international debut in a Twenty20 match against New Zealand on December 21, 2012 and a month later he was handed the ODI cap. Seeing his potential, De Kock also earned an IPL contract with the new franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad and ended up playing three games for the club, although he failed to set the stage on fire.

The lion-hearted opener has been lauded by one of South Africa's most fearless batsman Gibbs. "His shot selection is really good," Gibbs said. "But his power play is as good as his touch play, which is what you need to score hundreds. He likes the game going forward and is not shy to hit boundaries even in the middle period. He has got all the shots and all the understanding. The more he plays, the more he will learn," Gibbs said.

For his exemplary performances in the series against India, the left-handed batsman was given the Man of the Series award.