AB de Villiers: The Greatest of All Time
AB de Villiers is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. Today, AB made an announcement that he would be retiring from international cricket with an immediate effect. He has represented the Proteas in 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is. Here we take a look at some of the unbreakable records set by the South African.
Highest strike-rate while scoring 100+runs
AB de Villiers scored the fastest ODI century off just 31 balls against West Indies in January 2015. He scored 149 off 44 balls which included 9 fours and 16 sixes at a strike rate of 338.63. This is the highest strike-rate achieved by a batsman while scoring 100+ runs. The next best is by Corey Anderson, whose 131 came off just 47 balls.
Fastest 50, 100 and 150 in ODIs
AB de Villiers also holds the unique record of hitting the fastest fifty (16 balls), fastest ton (31 balls) and fastest 150 (64 balls) in the history of ODI cricket. This rare feat of holding these three records at the same time in ODIs is unlikely to get broken anytime soon. Notably, Mr 360 broke all these 3 records in the same calendar year
9,000 runs at a strike rate of 100+
AB de Villiers has scored 9,577 runs in ODIs averaging at a massive 53.50. Virat Kohli is the only cricketer (with 9,000+) runs who averages more than AB. However, the South African boasts a stunning strike rate of 101.09 as compared to Virat Kohli's 92.14.
Most sixes in a calendar year as a captain
AB de Villiers holds the record of hitting the most number of sixes in a calendar year by a captain. He slammed t 63 sixes in international cricket in the year 2015. Rohit Sharma is the only cricketer (non-captain) who went past him last year.
