Kolkata: Defeat in sport triggers conflicting reactions. Some accept it while gleaning the major positives from the campaign. Some dissect every aspect of it and make it a life mission to learn and evolve. And some just don’t talk about it and go into a shell. As a team, South Africa never dealt with that heartbreaking defeat to New Zealand in 2015, Dale Steyn had revealed during last year’s ODI World Cup. It hurt, but they wore the semi-final defeat with a smile, went for breakfast the next morning before dispersing for home.

Defeat can also be mind numbing. And when you are a South African, ending on the wrong side in each of the World Cup semi-finals in 1992, 1999, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2015 and 2023, the wry smiles are understandable. Good at giving one is Quinton de Kock, who had featured in the last three semi-finals and never really spoken about it. Now he is in a World Cup final, against an opponent he knows too well, in conditions he is too familiar with, and we still don’t know how he feels.

There will no doubt be nervous energy, surely a sense of occasion. But also, deja vu, given South Africa had lost to India in the 2014 T20 World Cup semi-final. Barely 21 then, brimming with talent nevertheless, de Kock promised a rousing start with a cracking boundary before Bhuvneshwar Kumar snagged an inside edge to MS Dhoni. This is a more mature de Kock though. His batting encapsulates a thrilling, intoxicating philosophy of taking the attack to the bowlers if the conditions are perfect but also dropping anchor when they aren’t. The left-handedness drips through in every pull or hook, but more conspicuous is his ability to not give two hoots for what you think.

If captaincy wasn’t suiting him, de Kock would tell. Choosing to drop himself because he didn’t want to accede to his board’s orders of taking the knee during the #BlackLivesMatter movement was his way of upholding freedom of expression. If he wasn’t enamoured by a format anymore, he wouldn’t hang around. Only 31 and already done with Tests and ODIs, De Kock’s reluctance stands out in the flock of cricketers still determined to play every format if possible. Will this be de Kock’s last T20 World Cup? No one knows but him.

What South Africa do know though is that as much as de Kock personifies the anguish they have been through; he also offers their greatest hope. Highest average, highest score, most number of fifties—all have come against India in T20Is. On top of that is the experience of playing in the Caribbean Premier League, all for Barbados Royals in 2022, that gives him unique knowledge of the venues. He has already used that to great effect in the seven-run win against England where he hammered 65 off 38 balls and made the most of the powerplay before the runs dried up.

“I’ve played here quite a bit in the Caribbean league and it’s the same thing: the wicket looks beautiful. At night, it plays most different but, in the day, 160-170 are winning scores here in the day,” he had said. “Generally, it goes like that in the Caribbean: I think the lights and maybe a bit of dew at night helps the ball skid on a bit better. The easier time to score runs is in the powerplay. When the ball’s old and as the wicket deteriorates, it gets harder.”

India must have taken note of this already. Jasprit Bumrah is almost unplayable, and even Arshdeep Singh is proving to be difficult to score off. But de Kock is also not your usual opener. The skill is top-notch, his timing immaculate. Probably more consequential though is that unshakeable focus. One more innings of belief and the world may finally get to know what Quinton de Kock feels about defeats, and victory.

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