Time does allow for things to even out‚ which could be the case for De Kock.
After all‚ it was at this ground in 2001 where Gilchrist scored one of his 16 mostly freewheeling test centuries that often saw Australia end up on the winning side and extricating themselves from potentially difficult positions.
One such predicament was in the said test where he galvanised the baggy greens from a precarious 186/5 to a reasonably powerful 382 on the back of an unbeaten 108-ball 138.
What went unnoticed in that innings was 100 runs that came in boundaries while collaring the likes of Makhaya Ntini‚ Paul Adams‚ Andrew Hall and the forgotten Dewald Pretorius.
It's one small comparison but De Kock's 124-ball 101 had shades of Gilchrist's brutal salvage job with a lesser boundary effect‚ but with an excellent strike rate fuelled by energetic running between the wickets.
The shared ability to take the game away from the opposition could and should be their only parallel because of the different eras and teams they played in.
As good as De Kock is and will be‚ this South African side is still finding its feet after a difficult previous two years.
Gilchrist's quality as a cricketer will never be in question‚ but he always found himself playing in a winning team.
It should go without saying that Gilchrist was measured and found wanting by England's reverse swinging pace brigade in the hi-octane 2005 Ashes series.
It was one of the few series where he disappeared without a trace‚ which adversely affected Australia's chances of winning the series.
Context is a crucial element in judging where a player is in their respective careers and De Kock's current statistic warrant high appraisal from the cricketing world.
What must not be forgotten in the slipstream of praise is that De Kock is still developing his game even though his maturing cricket brain puts many a seasoned player in the shade.
Perhaps it was fitting for De Kock to finally show his counterattacking ways under pressure under the beautiful glare of Table Mountain like Gilchrist's did nearly 16 years ago.
It's small but significant moments like these that are often ingrained in people's minds for eternity.
After all‚ it took South Africa from 169/5 to 392 all out‚ a total that proved too great for the hapless Sri Lankans in the greater scheme of things. - TMG Digital
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