Stats: AB de Villiers becomes fastest to 7000 ODI runs
South Africa’s AB de Villiers has become the fastest to reach 7,000 runs in the history of ODI cricket, having got there against Australia at Perth, earlier today, in just his 166th innings. He has overtaken former Indian left-hander Sourav Ganguly, who was the previous record-holder after having reached the landmark in 174 innings.
Chasing 301 from 50 overs for victory, AB de Villiers was under pressure right from the moment he came out to bat with the South Africans precariously placed at 3/53. The situation worsened when Faf du Plessis fell for 31 shortly after. But de Villiers, along with David Miller, managed to steady the South African innings.
They stitched together a 126-run partnership for the 5th wicket and were looking on course to take South Africa to victory when Miller was dismissed for a well-made 65, turning the match back in Australia’s favour once again. Once Miller was back in the pavilion, de Villiers had to pull off something truly special for South Africa to have any hope of winning, and that hope receded quickly as the 30-year-old was run out for 80 with the Proteas still needing 86 runs for victory from just over 10 overs.
Imran Tahir and Morne Morkel, courtesy of brief cameos, did give a scare late on, but it wasn’t sufficient as the South Africans slumped to a 32-run defeat.
Fastest batsmen to 7000 runs in ODI cricket (Innings):
| No. | Player | Matches | Innings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AB de Villiers | 172 | 166 |
| 2 | Sourav Ganguly | 180 | 174 |
| 3 | Brian Lara | 187 | 183 |
| 4 | Desmond Haynes | 188 | 187 |
| 5 | Jacques Kallis | 197 | 188 |
| 6 | Chris Gayle | 194 | 189 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 196 | 189 | |
| MS Dhoni | 212 | 189 | |
| 9 | Ricky Ponting | 196 | 192 |
| 10 | Saeed Anwar | 197 | 194 |