NEW DELHI: South Africa's wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock has been in the form of his life since reversing his ODI retirement in September, creating a record that left the likes of Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson trailing behind.

The left-handed de Kock became the second-fastest batter to reach 7,000 ODI runs during his 53-run innings against Pakistan in the third and final match of the series on Saturday. He achieved the milestone in his 158th ODI innings, ahead of Williamson (159) and Kohli (161).

The record for the fastest to 7,000 men's ODI runs is held by another South African, Hashim Amla, who achieved the milestone in just 150 innings.

De Kock got off to a flying start in the series, scoring 63 off 71 balls in the first match, followed by an unbeaten 123 in the second to steer his team to a successful run chase. In the third game, he continued his rich vein of form with his third consecutive 50-plus score, before being dismissed LBW by Mohammad Nawaz.

Entering the series with 6,770 runs from 155 innings, de Kock added a total of 239 runs across the three matches, surpassing the 7,000-run mark in ODIs in just 158 innings.

De Kock, however, failed to make an impact in T20Is - one match against Namibia and three against Pakistan - after returning to South Africa's white-ball setup.

De Kock had retired from 50-over cricket following the 2023 ODI World Cup, with his last white-ball appearance for South Africa being the 2024 T20 World Cup final in Barbados, before making his return.

At the time of his ODI retirement, de Kock had hinted that he could be persuaded to return, especially with South Africa set to host the 2027 World Cup. "At this point, I don't foresee it happening. But you never know. Strange things happen in life. It could be a possibility but I don't think so," he had said.