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We are almost halfway through the 2023 men's ODI World Cup and have seen 17 hundreds being scored in the first 23 matches, three of which have come from the bat of South Africa's Quinton de Kock.
The keeper-batter has announced that he will retire from ODIs after this World Cup, and he's singing himself quite the swansong, with three tons in five games, single-handedly powering South Africa to a win on two occasions.
His 174 against Bangladesh is the latest of his hundreds, which has left cricket fans wondering if a World Cup triumph may prompt this exceptionally talented player to reconsider his ODI retirement. De Kock is the highest run-scorer of this World Cup so far, with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma a distant second and third, respectively.
Speaking of Rohit Sharma, the Indian skipper has also had a solid start to the World Cup and is the holder of some prestigious ODI records. However, the form Quinton de Kock is in, you'd give him a fair shot at breaking some of them.
Let's now look at three Rohit Sharma records Quinton de Kock could break in this World Cup.
#3 Highest Individual ODI score - 264*
Rohit Sharma's 264 against Sri Lanka in November 2014 has stood the test of time. For nearly nine years, he has held the record for the highest ODI score by an individual batter. Many have tried to break it, but none have really come close.
However, if there is one batter in world cricket capable and deserving of playing such a knock, that's Quinton de Kock. The swashbuckling southpaw has all the shots in the book and plays an attacking game. Even if he starts slow, he can accelerate at an alarming rate, and field restrictions matter very little to a batter like him.
Admittedly, scoring 264 runs in 50 overs is not easy even for a player of his caliber, and it will be a tough ask. However, given the batter-friendly wickets we've had so far and his growing confidence, it shouldn't be a surprise to see him end up breaking this long-standing ODI record.
#2 Most fours in an ODI innings - 33
Quinton de Kock is a genuine boundary-hitter, and there's absolutely no doubt about that.
Rohit Sharma's iconic 264 saw him hit the most fours in a single innings in ODI cricket (33). Sachin Tendulkar is a distant second with 25 fours scored in his double-hundred.
QDK's best in this regard is 21 fours scored in his 168* vs Bangladesh in 2017. However, he has the ability to reach the levels Rohit Sharma touched and break this record.
With the heat levels next to unbearable in some venues in India, even the fittest batters prefer to score boundaries than grind it out by running between the wickets.
On a good batting wicket with a fast outfield, De Kock could definitely score more than 33 boundaries, especially if South Africa bat first.
#1 Most hundreds in a single men's ODI World Cup campaign - 5
Rohit Sharma scored a whopping five hundreds in the 2019 Cricket World Cup, breaking the record Kumar Sangakkara set in the 2015 edition.
We are five games into the 2023 World Cup and Quinton de Kock already has three centuries to his name. With South Africa likely to play four to five more matches, there's no reason why he can't score three more tons in this form.
While breaking the first two records will certainly take a lot of work, there's a really good chance De Kock will score more than five hundreds at this World Cup.
He has looked hard to dismiss once set at the crease and his focus and resolve have been unmatched.
De Kock could well be the holder of this record by the end of this tournament.
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