February 17, 2021 marks the 37th birthday of the former South African skipper AB De Villiers. The former Protean cricketer is one of the most entertaining cricketers in the modern era who played the game with a smile and with true sportsmanship spirit. The South African legend made his international debut in 2004 aging just 20. For the next 14 years, De Villiers ruled international cricket in all formats and turned out to be one of the most loveable cricketers in the world.
AB De Villiers had scored 8765 runs in 114 matches in red-ball cricket with an impressive average of 50.66. Besides, he had 9577 runs under the belt in ODIs in 228 matches with an average of 53.5. In May 2018, he announced his international retirement to put cricket experts and fans into a state of shock. He was in form while he announced his international retirement and the cricket experts felt that he could have easily played few more years. He still plays T20 cricket and participates in the various T20 leagues across the world and dishes out some spectacular shots. In this article, we will take a look at three of his best knocks in international cricket.
3 Best AB De Villiers Knock in International Cricket
149 vs West Indies in Johannesburg, 2015 (ODIs)
AB De Villiers brought out the best of his batting ability against West Indies back in 2015. Jason Holder’s side was at the receiving end of some terrific hitting from the former South African skipper. Ater South African openers added a 247 run-stand, AB De Villiers scored 149 off just 44 balls with an unbelievable strike rate of 338.64. He hit nine fours and as many as 16 sixes in the game and piled on the misery on the Windies bowlers.
South Africa posted 439 runs by losing two wickets after the mandatory 50 overs and later won the match by 148 runs. Unsurprisingly, AB was named the Man of the Match in that encounter.
33 (off 220 balls) vs Australia in Adelaide, 2012 (Tests)
AB De Villiers was a batsman who could play per the requirement of the game and the format. His best Test knock thus was one where he grinded himself and helped his side earn a draw.
Chasing 430 to win, South Africa were tottering at 77/4 before the resumption of the final day of the match. On day 5, South Arica fought back through Faf Du Plessis (110 off 376 ) and AB De Villiers’ (33 of 220). He did not hit a single boundary in his block in that knock and scored at a strike rate of 15.
He played a similar knock against India in 2015 in Delhi. With his side requiring 480 runs to win in the second innings, he scored a defiant 43 off 297 balls before he finally ran out of partners to save the game for his side.
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129* vs Gujarat Lions in Bangalore, IPL 2016 (T20s)
His best T20 knock came in an IPL game for Royal Challengers Bangalore back in 2016. That was the season in which the franchise played the finals of the tournament.
In a match against Gujarat Lions at the Chinnaswamy, AB Villiers and Virat Kohli added a 229-run stand and helped his team score 248 runs at the end of their 20 overs. De Villiers remained unbeaten on 129 as his team won the match by 144 runs.
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