South Africa Test captain AB de Villiers turned 32 on Tuesday. (Source: Reuters)South Africa Test captain AB de Villiers turned 32 on Wednesday. Capturing the cricketing world’s fascination by his strokeplay, De Villiers has earned the tag of complete batsman.
There have been times when the audience has doubted his presence as a human. Former India cricketer Aaksh Chopra once said:
“I demand a DNA test for AB de Villiers , this game is only for humans”
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Here are some of the feats of Mr 360
Fastest hundred in ODI format
Corey Anderson began the year 2014 by breaking the long-held record of fastest ODI century by smashing a 36-ball ton against West Indies in Queenstown. But a year later, De Villiers , playing at his favourite ground in Johannesburg, scored a hundred in 31 balls to claim the record. Incidentally, the opposition was once again the West Indies.
Fastest Fifty in ODI format
During the course of his fastest hundred, De Villiers achieved another glory when he scored his fifty runs in just 16 balls to shatter a 19-year long record of Sanath Jayasuriya.
Fastest 150 in ODI format
The Proteas were up against the West Indies in the ICC World Cup 2015 and were placed at 146/3 when the skipper stepped in. In what can be called as one of the most ferocious innings by him, De Villiers destroyed the West Indian attack to score 162* runs off 66 balls. This was the fastest 150+ score by a batsman in ODIs. He scored his 150th run on 64th delivery to break the previous record by 19 ball which was held by Shane Watson. He is now the only player to hold the record of scoring the fastest fifty, hundred and 150 at the same time.
2nd Highest individual score in Tests for South Africa
De Villiers holds the record of the second highest individual score for South Africa. He scored an unbeaten 278 against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in the year 2010. Hashim Amla is the only player who has scored a triple hundred for South Africa.
Most Test innings by a batsman without a duck
De Villiers also holds the record of most number of innings by a batsman in Test cricket without getting out for a duck. He played 78 innings before he was sent back a duck in a match against Bangladesh in the year 2008.
