AB de Villiers Shatters Records En Route to 44-Ball 149
He is known as the most dangerous cricketer on the planet. In the second ODI against West Indies, the South Africa captain showed just why as his team posted 439/2.
AB de Villiers was hailed as the best cricketer on the planet by Australian veteran Adam Gilchrist earlier this week. On Sunday, he showed just why he enjoys the reputation of being the top player. The 30-year-old hammered a record 44-ball 149 against hapless West Indies at Johannesburg - overtaking several records in the process. (Scorecard | Highlights)
Here's taking a look at some of the records he either broke or equaled:
1) De Villiers reached the three-figure mark off 31 balls - surpassing Kiwi Corey Anderson's 36-ball record. Interestingly, Anderson too had hit his ton against West Indies.
2) De Villiers took just 16 balls to reach his fifty - surpassing Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya's record of a 17-ball 50 vs Pakistan in 1996.
3) The South Africa captain hit 16 sixes - equaling Rohit Sharma's record.
4) De Villiers had a strike rate of 339 when he finally fell. This is the first time a batsman has had a 300-plus strike rate in a three-figure innings. It is also the highest in a 50-plus knock.
5) The batsman helped South Africa post 439 - the highest-ever by the team and now the second-highest in the history of the format.