Pink jersey White ball. Johannesburg.
In January 2015, AB de Villiers drove Bullring into a frenzy. Completed three figures off 31 balls, breaking Corey Anderson’s record for fastest ODI century. De Villiers and the record – if you say it together, maybe the first innings of 149 runs from 44 balls will float in your eyes.
However, there are some more amazing records in the career of ‘Mr. 360 Degree’, which you may not know. Let’s take a look at the records of the superstar who was born on this day in 1974.
AB de Villiers batted in 10 innings in the 2006 ODI World Cup. He scored a century in St. George’s against the West Indies, including two innings of 72 and 92. However, the right-hander was dismissed four times in the tournament without a run – against the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Ireland and New Zealand.
De Villiers holds the record for most ‘ducks’ in a series in those 4 zeros. Of course, he is not alone here. Four others – Greg Chappell of Australia, Ian Blackwell of England, Kyle McCallan of Ireland and Monank Patel of the United States – have four consecutive dismissals for zero runs in a series.
Of course, the record of all of them is in the tournament. The record for most 3 zeroes in a bilateral series is shared by 12 people.
What de Villiers could not do, the question may be asked. He has also been responsible for wicketkeeping for South Africa in all three editions at different times.
He has played 24 times in 114 Tests as a recognized wicketkeeper. He also broke the world record as a wicketkeeper in 2013. He took 11 catches in two innings against Pakistan in Johannesburg. The record for most dismissals in a Test as a wicketkeeper.
De Villiers has this fame before and after and the two of them. England’s Jack Russell set the record in 1995 against South Africa in Johannesburg. India’s Rishabh Pant touched Russell-de Villiers against Australia in Adelaide in 2016.
De Villiers was in great form from November 2012 to February 2014. De Villiers has scored at least half a century in one of the 12 consecutive Tests from Perth to Port Elizabeth. De Villiers broke Viv Richards’ record for half a century in a row. Richards scored a half-century in 11 consecutive matches from January 1986 to February 1978.
De Villiers’ record for half-centuries reached after England’s Joe Root. Root also scored a half-century in 12 consecutive Tests from October 2016 to August 2017.
In addition to Richards, there are three other players in 11 consecutive matches – Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag of India and Muminul Haque of Bangladesh.