On This Day: AB de Villiers Smashes a Sensational 162 of 66 Deliveries

It was the 19^th match of the 2015 World Cup when Mr 360 Abraham Benjamin De Villiers produced one of the greatest knocks in ODI cricket. He made power hitting look ridiculously easy and ended up scoring a massive 162 runs in a mere 66 deliveries. The innings came against West Indies during a group game. His innings was studded with 17 fours and eight huge sixes. Meanwhile, he also broke the record of Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien of the fastest century in a World Cup match reaching the three-figure mark in his 52^nd delivery.

Hashim Amla and du Plessis resurrect innings after early loss

Batting first South Africa got off to a relatively sedate start. They lost opener Quinton de Kock early, but Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis started resurrecting the innings with a fluent partnership. They played some wonderful shots and stitched together a valuable partnership of 127 runs between them. Chris Gayle dismissed both batsmen. While Amla was dismissed on 65, du Plessis made 62.

Next man in Rilee Rossouw also scored a fluent half-century, but the main drama was yet to unfold. When Rossouw was dismissed in the 42^nd over, South Africa had only reached 280, but by then de Villiers had started his show. However, in the last eight overs, he went simply berserk and smashed the Windies bowlers all around the Sydney Cricket Ground.

De Villiers went on the carnage after completing his century 

After completing his century, De Villiers was unstoppable. He reached his next half-century in just 11 balls and deposited all the Windies bowlers to different parts of the ground.  One of the best modern-day batsmen smashed Jason Holder for 30 runs in the final over which was studded with a four and four sixes over the fence.

It was a sensational innings. The way he murdered the bowlers was a treat to watch for all the cricket fans. Courtesy his sensational knock; South Africa registered a mammoth score of 408 which was the first time that a 400+ total was put up on Australian soil. De Villiers was satisfied with the knock and said it was enjoyable.

“A very enjoyable knock today, I thought the foundations the boys did up front allowed us to free up later on,” de Villiers said at the conclusion of the first innings. It was one of those knocks that I love. Everything bounced my way, a little bit of luck today and I made it count.”

Chasing a monstrous total, the Windies were never in the game. They kept losing wickets on a consistent basis, and there were no partnerships what so ever. Captain Jason Holder top scored with 56 as the Caribbeans were bowled out for just 151 runs, thus handing South Africa a resounding victory by 257 runs.

Here’s the Newsfeed:

Jason Holder Admits Windies Should Win the 2019 World Cup

NZ vs ENG 2018: Chris Woakes Joins Elite List of English Players