It was one of those days when Mr. 360 AB de Villiers was in a destructive mood and the opposition was made to surrender. He had made a comeback to international cricket after injury in the first ODI against Bangladesh but the openers Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla refused to leave the fort as a 10-wicket win for the Proteas didn’t let AB bat.
But when the right-hander got the opportunity to bat in the 2nd ODI at Paarl, he reminded everyone what he is capable of doing on a cricket field. Earlier, Amla and de Kock added 90 runs for the 1st wicket after Bangladesh put the hosts into bat. As de Kock and Faf du Plessis departed in quick succession, the pitch was seemingly difficult to bat on.
But when AB de Villiers began striking the ball to all parts, he made batting look easy. From the outset, he was on the offensive and the crowd sensed they were in for an AB special. He kept blasting every bowler and brought up his century off just 68 balls. As the death overs arrived, the rate of scoring went up a few notches and it seemed as if the 33-year-old woudl bring up a double hundred.
But in the 48th over, he perished in the hunt for clearing the fence to Rubel Hossain. He scored a massive 176 off just 104 balls that included 15 fours and 7 daunting sixes. Due to his superlative effort, South Africa posted a mammoth 353/6 on the board.
In reply, the Bangladeshi batsmen tried hard but the target turned out to be too big for them. Imrul Kayes and Mushfiqur Rahim scored valiant half-centuries but the side was ultimately bowled out for 249 in the 48th over giving South Africa a win by 104 runs and a 2-0 lead in the series.
Twitteratis hailed the superhuman effort of AB de Villiers
https://twitter.com/ICC/status/920612763566616576
ODI century number 25 for AB de Villiers! Puts him joint sixth in the all time century makers with the great Kumar Sangakkara. #SAvBAN pic.twitter.com/c93p7ta34x
— ICC (@ICC) October 18, 2017
I love watching @ABdeVilliers17 bat!
— Chris Morris (@Tipo_Morris) October 18, 2017
The Superman of Cricket, @ABdeVilliers17 scores a brilliant 100, again! It's time we get his DNA checked, because he isn't human. #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/xIPj7rlRr1
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) October 18, 2017
AB DE VILLIERS' ODI centuries: (Balls taken)
31-60 Balls: 4
61-75 Balls: 5*
76-90 Balls: 6
91-99 Balls: 8
>100 Balls: 2#SAvBAN— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) October 18, 2017
AB De Villiers become first player to smash 150 in less than 100 balls twice in ODI Cricket history….
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) October 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/danevn81/status/920606459506733056
https://twitter.com/ICC/status/920612763566616576
Sorry @ABdeVilliers17 , nazar lag gayi . But always a delight to watch you smash bowlers. Incredible hitting ! https://t.co/sV0FaCw1oD
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) October 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/SampathStats/status/920637471204847616
Most sixes in ODIs
Shahid Afridi 351
Jayasuriya 270
Gayle 252
Dhoni 213
AB de villiers 201#SAvBAN— VIJAY (@akkianvijay) October 18, 2017
AB De Villiers not only missed double century also missed a chance to become fastest to score ODI double century…
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) October 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/beingmike12/status/920602982189690880
