Timing, as we say in cricket, is everything, and Quinton de Kock's best T20I score in 19 innings could not have come at a more opportune moment.
De Kock made his comeback for South Africa exactly two months ago but his returns in this format: 1, 23, 7, 0 and 0, were cause for concern. The question hung in the air: did he still have it to contribute at the highest level in this format? There is also the not-so-small matter of next week's IPL auction, and he was added to the shortlist earlier this week after initially being left off, which suggests one or more franchises are interested in him. Another question: had he done anything recently enough to suggest he'd be an obvious choice?
Throw in a 46-ball 90 against an attack that includes Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya into the mix and both of those have been answered with the same yes. De Kock is back, and back properly.
His first big shot signalled it. Arshdeep went slightly short, got his line a little wrong as the delivery was directed down leg stump and de Kock barely had to move towards offstump to pick up and flick it over backward square for the game's first six. He would hit five more in that area and two in the 'V,' for a total of seven sixes in an innings also punctuated by five fours.
What stood out was the clean ball-striking, his ability to pick up the short or slower ball early and decide where he wanted to hit it and the nonchalance with which he went about the innings. Too much, maybe, as he was run out on 90 and the chance for a second century in this format was squandered, but to see de Kock show the shades of old will be reassuring, to both South Africa and the IPL franchises.
So far, his trip to India has been all or nothing with a duck and 8 in the first two ODIs before a 106 in the third, which was his seventh against India. Then, he got a duck in the first T20I, to a wonderful Arshdeep ball that swung away from him as he edged behind. He grinned and bore it but inside had the same thoughts we all did. "I didn't know what's going on, it was all just happening," de Kock told the host broadcasters afterwards. "I guess it's just when I do get going, I have to just try and make it count."
Arshdeep was the first bowler he faced again in this match and with much less swing on offer in New Chandigarh than Cuttack, he was able to get his own back. As Arshdeep struggled for consistency - he bowled nine wides all told - de Kock took 27 runs off the 14 balls he faced against him, and three of those were big sixes. Was he claiming any bragging rights? Doesn't sound like it. "The guy's got me out plenty of times, that I know for sure," he said.
In T20Is, de Kock is the batter Arshdeep has dismissed the joint-most number of times so de Kock's memory serves him well. It's also against a bowler like Arshdeep that he measures himself. "I judge myself and how good my technique is under moving balls because that's how I think I get the best out of myself," de Kock said at the post-match press conference. "Against guys like Arshdeep and Booms (Jasprit Bumrah), you have to be strong in your positions. Otherwise, they are going to find you out. You can't be loose."
De Kock's footwork, use of the crease and the way he accesses the legside were all on display in this innings and it came because he didn't think too hard about it. "I just let the instincts take over and kept making sure I was in good positions. That was all it was."
It was also about who he was up against. India is the country de Kock has enjoyed most of his white-ball success. While he puts that down to the frequency with which South Africa play them, it's also about the desire to step up against the best. "Before my retirement, it would be hard to wake up and go play for the team again, especially when you play a series over and over where you've played India multiple times, home and away. Over time, I was getting sick of it. I was looking for a new challenge and I wasn't getting it," he said. 'Coming back, I feel like this is actually what I missed. As everyone knows, you never know what you have until you've lost it. That's kind of now coming back. I feel I can play much longer than what I thought previously."
Against India and in India, which also bodes well for next week's auction. De Kock may well have caught the eye of the franchise that let him go, Kolkata Knight Riders, as they have retained neither him nor their other wicket-keeper opening batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz but they wouldn't be the only ones looking. Mumbai Indians, whose South African wicketkeeper-opener Ryan Rickelton is not even in this South African squad and Delhi Capitals, where Faf du Plessis has opted out, may also consider de Kock for next season.