SA vs AUS: Quinton de Kock will go down as one of the legends of ...

SA vs AUS: South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has said that Quinton de Kock will go down as one of the legends of the game. Quinton de Kock played his last ODI game in the semi-final of World Cup 2023.

Quinton de Kock played his final ODI. (Reuters Photo)

South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock played the final ODI match of his career. De Kock, opened in South Africa's semi-final clash against Australia, which the Proteas team lost by 3 wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

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De Kock retires from ODI cricket as one of the best batters of his generation, having hit 6770 runs from 155 matches in the 50-over format. De Kock hit 21 centuries and 30 fifties in the ODI format and scored runs at an average of 45.74. South Africa captain Temba Bavuma spoke about the batter after the semi-final clash and said that the left-hander would go down as one of the legends of the game.

“He would have wanted to end things on a different note, but he'll remember the type of innings and fight we showed as a team,” South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma said of De Kock after the semi-final loss to Australia.

“Us as players, we've enjoyed playing with him through all the years. In South Africa he will go down as one of the legends of the game,” Bavuma further added.

Australia pacer Mitchell Starc revealed at the end of the match that Quinton de Kock was a key wicket for them, de Kock's dismissal was the second wicket for Australia after they removed captain Bavuma. The left-hander managed to score just 3 runs off 14 balls, and got caught out trying to play a release shot against Josh Hazlewood.

“We were able to build a lot of dot balls on them, which brings a shot like Quinton played,” Starc said after the final.

“He's obviously been a big part of their World Cup and scoring runs, so to see the back of him early and get their middle order in, as I said, sooner rather than towards the back end where they can play with freedom was what we drew up,” Starc had further added.

The left-hander's white-ball career is not over as the batter will play in the T20 World Cup 2024, set to be jointly held in the United States of America and West Indies.