Quinton de Kock hit a quick-fire century as South Africa chased down a target of 259 to stun West Indies by six wickets in the second Twenty20 match in Centurion on Sunday

The swashbuckling batter hit nine fours and eight sixes in his 44-ball knock as South Africa finished on 259-4 with seven balls to spare after West Indies made 258-5.

It was the highest-ever run chase in 20-over cricket by any team in the history of the shortest format of the game.

Skipper Aiden Makram hit the winning run after Proteas went into the second last over needing nine runs to clinch victory.

“It feels good to win the game,” Makram said at the presentation ceremony as they levelled the three-match series. “There are things to improve on and we will keep on trying to do that.”

De Kock started hitting boundaries right from the first bowl when he punched down a leg-side delivery for four. He, along with his opening pair Reeza Hendricks, gave his team a 152-run stand.

“The opening stand was quite special and it is good to win the game. We just picked the right options and kept it simple,” the left-handed batter said after receiving the player of the match award.

He hailed the pitch, which was a good batting track as West Indies player Johnson Charles had smashed 118 off 46 balls to put over 250 runs on the scoreboard. “It was a special knock and we will look to win the series.”

Hendrick made 68 off just 28 deliveries thanks to eleven fours and two sixes.

They had set the game for their home side which made it easy for the middle order to complete the chase till the end.

The previous record for the highest successful run-chase in T20Is was held by Bulgaria against Serbia in 2022, when the former chased down 243 in 19.4 overs.

The pair succeeded in reducing the required run rate, allowing captain Aiden Markram (38 not out) to steer his side home to a remarkable win with seven balls remaining.

“It was a pretty crazy game. When we came out to bowl we thought we had done enough. They applied the pressure from ball one and we didn’t respond,” West Indies captain Rovman Powell said.

The final game would be played at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Tuesday. West Indies won the first match by three wickets on Saturday.