3 records of AB de Villiers that might not be broken in the near future
AB de Villiers, the swashbuckling South African batsman announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket on 23rd May 2018. The news came as a shock for the cricket fraternity and was a cause of distress among the cricket fans.
The South African is loved by cricket fans all over the world and has developed an emotional connection with the fans especially in India. ABD who is one of the most feared batsmen in the world enjoyed a highly successful career that lasted nearly 14 years.
In the wake of his retirement here are a few records which are held by him and are unlikely to be broken in the near future:
#3 Most number of centuries scored under 60 balls in ODIs (4)
Scoring a century in less than 60 balls in a fifty over-game is a daunting task and only 14 players have been able to achieve the feat so far. Only 14 players in close to 50 years of ODI cricket history is surprising to see and it is enough to define the difficulty of the achievement.
Only 3 players have been able to achieve the feat more than once. AB de Villiers leads the list of most number of centuries scored under 60 balls in ODIs with 4 centuries. Shahid Afridi is 2nd with 3 centuries and Sanath Jayasuriya is 3rd with 2 centuries.
Ironically, the world's most devastating batsman, Chris Gayle has not been able to score an ODI ton under 60 balls, his fastest came in 69 balls. In an era of T20 cricket, predictions are bound to fail but the statistics have a different say and it is unlikely that this record is going to be broken anytime soon.