Quinton de Kock is better than Adam Gilchrist – Read numbers to believe it!

The 23-year-old hit his second Test century to help the visiting Proteas to a potential match-winning 241-run innings lead.

New Delhi: After his prolific ton on the third day of second Test against Australia at Hobart, South Africa's wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock said that he's not Adam Gilchrist. A humble admission, because the Aussie great is not your ordinary cricketer.

That's how de Kock tried to play down the comparison between him and the Aussie great, who's celebrating his 45th birthday in India with Sachin Tendulkar.

The 23-year-old wicketkeeper hit his second Test century to help the visiting Proteas to a potential match-winning 241-run innings lead on Monday.

And rightly, the swashbuckling de Kock has been likened Gilchrist, who revolutionised the wicketkeeper-batsman role with 17 Test centuries, often turning matches with his prodigious hitting.

Like in case of other brooding talents, it's still early to compare them with legends of the game. But many have already started to put numbers together and compare, and the results suggest that de Kock already ahead of Gilchrist, in many areas.

FYI, de Kock is playing in his 12th Test match only, as against Gilly's 96.

Anyway, here are some facts:

1. de Kock is the third wicketkeeper in the history of Test cricket to hit half-centuries in five consecutive innings, a feat Gilly failed to achieve. Pakistan’s Sarfraz Ahmed (in 2014) and former Zimbabwe captain and England coach Andy Flower (in 2000) are the others.

2. de Kock has amassed 824 runs at an average of 54.93 in 12 matches, with still a possible innings left. After 12 Tests in his career, Gilchrist had scored 746 runs at an average of 53.28.

3. After 12 matches, de Kock has two hundreds and six fifties, against Gilchrist's one hundred and six fifties.

4. de Kock has even more impressive glove-work. After these many Tests, he has taken 42 catches behind the stumps, and also effected two stumpings, for a total of 44 dismissals. Here, Gilly has recorded far greater numbers though – 55 dismissals (51 catches and four stumpings). One factor which contributed to these numbers was the fact that Gilly was keeping for some of the greatest bowlers like Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.

To put things in the right perspective, we have Mahendra Singh Dhoni's numbers. The Indian legend has had 36 catches and eight stumpings for a total of 44 dismissals.

de Kock's compatriot, Marck Boucher is unrivaled. He has 61 dismissals (59 catches and two stumpings).

Gilchrist played 96 Tests, 287 ODIs and 13 Twenty20 Internationals for the Australian team, amassing over 15000 runs.