New Delhi: After a brief international hiatus Quinton de Kock has made a resounding return to the South African ODI team. Known for his explosive batting and consistent performances de Kock silenced his critics with brilliant innings in the series against Pakistan writing another golden chapter in his career. A Blistering Start to the Comeback De Kock initially played four T20 matches after his return — one against Namibia and three against Pakistan — but his bat didnt fire there. However as soon as he stepped into the ODI format everything changed. In his first ODI after the 2023 World Cup he smashed a brilliant 63 runs off 71 balls making his intentions clear. An Impressive Comeback with Consistent Performances He found his rhythm in the first innings and converted it into a big score in the second. In the second ODI de Kock scored an unbeaten 123 runs guiding South Africa to victory. In the third ODI as well he scored 53 runs off 70 balls before being dismissed lbw by Mohammad Nawaz. Three half-centuries in three matches shows the strong mindset with which de Kock has returned. Achieving the Historic Milestone of 7000 Runs De Kock started this series with 6770 runs. By scoring a total of 239 runs in three matches he crossed the 7000-run mark. He achieved this feat in just 158 innings — thus becoming the third-fastest batsman in ODI history to reach this milestone. In this list de Kock surpassed Virat Kohli (161 innings) and Kane Williamson (159 innings) while Hashim Amla (150 innings) remains the fastest. A Rapid Career and a Golden Record De Kocks career trajectory has been phenomenal from the very beginning. He is the ninth-fastest to reach 6000 runs (142 innings) jointly the seventh-fastest to reach 5000 (116 innings) and the eighth-fastest batsman to reach 4000 runs (94 innings). His return not only gives his career a new lease of life but also strengthens South Africas batting tradition once graced by the likes of Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers. Fastest to 7000 ODI runs (in terms of innings) Player Opposition Ground Match Date Debut Time Matches Inns Hashim Amla (SA) v England Lords 29 May 2017 9 Mar 2008 9y 81d 153 150 Quinton de Kock (SA) v Pakistan Faisalabad 8 Nov 2025 19 Jan 2013 12y 293d 158 158 Kane Williamson (NZ) v South Africa Lahore 10 Feb 2025 10 Aug 2010 14y 184d 167 159 Virat Kohli (IND) v Australia Melbourne 17 Jan 2016 18 Aug 2008 7y 152d 169 161 AB de Villiers (Afr/SA) v Australia W.A.C.A 14 Nov 2014 2 Feb 2005 9y 285d 172 166 Joe Root (ENG) v West Indies Cardiff 1 Jun 2025 11 Jan 2013 12y 141d 179 168 Sourav Ganguly (IND) v Kenya Paarl 24 Oct 2001 11 Jan 1992 9y 286d 180 174 Rohit Sharma (IND) v Pakistan Dubai (DICS) 23 Sep 2018 23 Jun 2007 11y 92d 187 181 Brian Lara (WI) v South Africa St Georges 6 May 2001 9 Nov 1990 10y 178d 187 183 Martin Guptill (NZ) v Netherlands Hamilton 4 Apr 2022 10 Jan 2009 13y 84d 189 186 StoryHighlights: Quinton de Kock returned to South Africas white-ball team after reversing his international retirement. He played innings of 63 123 and 53 runs* respectively in three ODIs against Pakistan. He completed 7000 ODI runs in just 158 innings becoming the third-fastest batsman to reach the milestone. He surpassed Virat Kohli (161) and Kane Williamson (159) while Hashim Amla (150) remains the fastest.