Stats: AB de Villiers breaks Sourav Ganguly's record
After a gap of 13 years, Sourav Ganguly’s record of being the fastest to reach 8000 runs in one-day international (ODI) cricket has been broken by the swashbuckling AB de Villiers today. The South African batsman took 182 innings to reach the milestone whereas Ganguly belted the same numbers in 200 innings.
In the match against New Zealand, De Villiers played an important innings to give a strong platform to the Proteas, who finished at 283 for the loss of 7 wickets in 50 overs.
The Kiwis were desperate for De Villiers’ wicket because he looked in good rhythm and was becoming a headache for the bowlers. It was Doug Bracewell who finally brought relief to the visitors when he clean bowled De Villiers after the latter reached 64 runs off 48 balls which included 8 boundaries and 1 six.
Bracewell bowled a slower delivery, on a good length, and as De Villiers looked to drive through cover, the ball sneaked through bat and pad and hit the off stump. It was a massive wicket for New Zealand, but by then De Villiers had already entered the record books, for the umpteenth time.
Fastest to 8000 runs in ODIs
| Player | Opposition | Ground | Debut | Time | Mats | Inns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB de Villiers (Afr/SA) | New Zealand | Durban | 2 Feb 2005 | 10y 205d | 190 | 182 |
| SC Ganguly (India) | West Indies | Nagpur | 11 Jan 1992 | 10y 302d | 208 | 200 |
| SR Tendulkar (India) | Pakistan | Manchester | 18 Dec 1989 | 9y 172d | 217 | 210 |
| BC Lara (WI) | Australia | St George's | 9 Nov 1990 | 12y 204d | 216 | 211 |
| MS Dhoni (Asia/India) | New Zealand | Wellington | 23 Dec 2004 | 9y 39d | 243 | 214 |
| Saeed Anwar (Pak) | Sri Lanka | Sharjah | 1 Jan 1989 | 12y 102d | 221 | 218 |
| DL Haynes (WI) | Pakistan | Johannesburg | 22 Feb 1978 | 15y 5d | 220 | 219 |
| RT Ponting (Aus/ICC) | England | Chester-le-Street | 15 Feb 1995 | 10y 128d | 225 | 220 |
| CH Gayle (ICC/WI) | Bangladesh | Dhaka | 11 Sep 1999 | 11y 174d | 226 | 221 |
| ME Waugh (Aus) | West Indies | Melbourne | 11 Dec 1988 | 12y 60d | 230 | 223 |
- De Villiers is the only batsman to score 8000 runs in less than 200 ODIs.
- It took De Villiers 10 years and 205 days to reach the landmark.