De Kock’s 100th T20I turns historic as South Africa seal series against West Indies

Quinton de Kock marked his 100th Twenty20 International with a commanding century as South Africa cruised to a seven wicket win over the West Indies at Centurion , sealing the three match series 2-0 with a game to spare.

Chasing a daunting target of 222 , South Africa made the task look remarkably easy, reaching 225 for 3 with 15 balls still left. The Proteas never appeared under pressure, scoring freely from the start and maintaining a run rate close to 12 an over for much of the chase. De Kock led the charge with a blistering 115 off 49 ball s, striking 10 sixes and six boundaries , while Ryan Rickelton finished unbeaten on 77 off 36 deliveries.

The West Indies had earlier posted a strong 221 for 4, powered by Shimron Hetmyer’s fluent 75 and a late onslaught from Sherfane Rutherford, who remained not out on 57. However, South Africa’s bowlers, led by spinner Keshav Maharaj with figures of 2 for 22, ensured the target stayed within reach. Captain Aiden Markram later admitted that without Maharaj’s spell, the chase could have gone well beyond 240.

For the West Indies, the defeat continued a worrying trend in recent T20 internationals, with the side struggling to defend big totals and finding consistency elusive in the lead up to the T20 World Cup . Despite flashes of batting brilliance, their bowling has failed to close out matches, a concern that remains unresolved.

The series victory is a major boost for South Africa, snapping a run of five consecutive bilateral T20 series losses and handing head coach Shukri Conrad his first T20I series win. The third and final match will be played on Saturday, after which both teams will quickly travel to India and Sri Lanka to join the rest of the squads for the T20 World Cup, which begins next week.