De Kock back in his comfort zone
IMPRESSIVE: OPENER MADE GOOD USE OF TRUE PITCH
Left-hander says it was good to bat with a ‘chilled’ Amla.
There has been a definite correlation between the improved form of the Proteas batsmen and the truer pitches being used in the one-day series, with Quinton de Kock admitting the conditions in Dambulla on Wednesday were much more to the South Africans’ liking than the surfaces used for the Tests in Galle and Colombo.
De Kock steered the Proteas to a 2-0 series lead with his impressive 87 off 78 balls, a great return to form for the left-hander, and the visitors will now look to seal victory in the rubber in the third ODI in Kandy on Sunday.
“Obviously it’s been more satisfying for us having the change of format to the white ball and it was nice to add value to the side and great to be part of a winning team again. It was difficult to play spin during the Test series because the pitch deteriorates over a couple of days, but the nice thing about one-day cricket is you know the pitches will be true.
“This pitch stayed pretty much the same, it got a bit slower and the odd one would stop or spin, but generally you could trust the bounce and turn and it was a great wicket. Obviously the Test series was tough for us and when we get to Kandy we’ll be pushing for the series win, trying to make it 3-0,” De Kock said after the four-wicket triumph with 43 balls to spare in the second ODI.
Although De Kock and Hashim Amla have not put on a century stand for the first wicket since their record-breaking unbeaten partnership of 282 to beat Bangladesh by 10 wickets in Kimberley last October, they have been solid together in the few times they have been paired together at the top of the order since then.
In the 10 ODIs South Africa have played since that Kimberley outing, De Kock and Amla have only opened together on five occasions (the Proteas experimenting with Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram alongside the wicketkeeper/batsman), their partnership of 91 in Dambulla taking their tally of runs to 281 in those matches.
“Hashim is very chilled, very relaxed and we keep each other very calm, that’s what we seem to do well together. It’s been nice to finally bat again with him and I can’t remember the last time we had such a long time together,” De