AB de Villiers' top 3 ODI centuries
On Tuesday, May 18, Cricket South Africa (CSA) confirmed that AB de Villiers has decided that "for once and for all," his retirement will remain final. Back in 2018, the legendary batsman shocked the entire cricket fraternity with his decision to retire from international cricket.
But AB de Villiers continued to entertain fans with his 360-degree batting display in T20 leagues across the globe. Seeing his continuing prowess with the bat, discussions began emerging among Cricket South Africa officials to bring him back ahead of the T20 World Cup scheduled to take place later this year.
Proteas head coach Mark Boucher and Cricket South Africa director Graeme Smith have hinted at positive discussions with de Villiers but the cricketer has put an end to the speculation by conveying his decision to the board.
With any chance of AB de Villiers donning the South Africa jersey again being ruled out for the foreseeable future, we take a look at his top-three ODI centuries of all time:
#3) 162* (66 balls) vs West Indies
AB de Villiers was in breathtaking form in the 2015 ICC World Cup and many expected South Africa to end the deadlock and win the trophy. However, their journey came to a premature end after losing to New Zealand in the semi-final. De Villiers played some swashbuckling knocks throughout that campaign but his unbeaten 162 against West Indies will go down as one of his best ODI centuries.
de Villiers smacked the West Indies bowlers all around the park to power South Africa to a total in excess of 400. He remained unbeaten with 162 runs from just 66 deliveries; an innings laced with 17 fours and eight sixes.
In response, West Indies could only muster a total of 151 and lost the game by 257 runs.
#2) 119 (61 balls) vs India
With the ODI leg of South Africa's tour of India tied at 2-2, both sides had everything to play for in the fifth and final match of the series at Wankhede Stadium. Opting to bat first, the Proteas got off to a flying start thanks to both Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock scoring centuries.
But the final onslaught came from AB de Villiers, who single-handedly snatched the game away from the hosts with a brutal knock of 119 runs from just 61 deliveries, including 11 sixes and three boundaries. Banking on his exploits, the Proteas posted 438 runs in 50 overs - their highest-ever ODI tally against India.
After de Villiers led an absolute carnage against the Men in Blue on a flat Wankhede wicket, the hosts could only manage to put together 224 runs and lost the series 2-3.
#1) 149 (44 balls) vs West Indies
2015 will go down as one of the best years of AB de Villiers' international career. He entertained the fans with some solid power-hitting and astounding knocks. One such knock was his 44-ball 149 in Johannesburg, which is likely to go down as his best ODI showing ever.
AB de Villiers came out to bat with 11 overs to go and on the back of a brilliant knock from Hashim Amla (153 from 142 balls). He began with a couple of boundaries but soon changed gears and went absolutely berserk against the Windies. The right-handed batsman played a scintillating knock of 149 off just 44 balls, peppered with nine fours and a world-record-equalling 16 sixes.
In the process, AB de Villiers reached his fifty off just 16 deliveries, breaking Sanath Jayasuriya's 17-ball 50 against Pakistan. The South African didn't stop there and went on to hit a century in just 31 balls, smashing Corey Anderson's record (36). He also became the first batsman to score an ODI century after coming out to bat past the 35th over.
AB de Villiers' masterclass propelled South Africa to a sizable total of 439, to which West Indies could only respond with 291 runs.