3 best Quinton de Kock Test knocks

Barely hours after the conclusion of the first Test against India in Centurion on Thursday, South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock announced his sudden retirement from Test cricket to make time for his growing family.

De Kock, 29, played 54 Tests since making his debut back in 2014 against Australia in Port Elizabeth. He scored 3,300 runs at an average of 38.82 while also accounting for 232 dismissals behind the stumps.

The left-hander scored 22 half-centuries and six hundreds, and led the team in four Tests.

Here's a look at his three best Test knocks:

#3) 68 off 81 against England at Trent Bridge, 2017

De Kock played a big role in South Africa winning the Nottingham Test in 2017

One of de Kock's lesser spoken of Test innings was his flamboyant 81-ball 68 against England in Nottingham in 2017. Down 1-0, the visitors were without star pacer Kagiso Rabada, who was serving a one-match suspension.

De Kock walked in at 68/2 and launched a typical counter-attack against the likes of James Anderson and Mark Wood to lead the tourists to a competitive 335. South Africa went on to win the Test by 340 runs.

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#2) 141 not out versus West Indies in Gros Islet, 2021

In what would be the last of his six Test centuries, de Kock put on an exhibition of the highest order against West Indies earlier this year.

De Kock walked in at 119/4, but the dismissal of a well-set Rassie van der Dussen triggered a collapse. At 233/8 de Kock was starting to run out of partners.

With Anrich Nortje having the best seat in the house, de Kock cut loose, the pick-up shots off his pads being the hallmark of the innings. The southpaw hit an unbeaten 170-ball 141 with seven sixes.

De Kock was declared Player of the match and would go on to bag the Player of the series award as well after scoring 96 in the second Test.

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#1) 111 off 163 balls against India in Visakhapatnam, 2019

De Kock... a classy left-hander

Albeit in a losing cause, de Kock showed the world why he was one of the most complete batters across formats during the 2019 tour of India. South Africa were reeling at 63/4 after India racked up 502/7 in the Visakhapatnam Test.

Skipper Faf du Plessis and Dean Elgar countered with a century stand. After du Plessis fell, de Kock and Elgar milked the Indian spin duo of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja while showing very little discomfort against the seamers. South Africa had not only avoided the follow-on, but were making a fist of it now.

De Kock raised a century in his first Test innings on the Indian subcontinent, even clearing the fence on two occasions. He was eventually castled by Ashwin for 111 and South Africa folded for 431. While the visitors weren't able to save the Test, de Kock's contribution helped the side make a match out of it.