Five bowlers who got the better of AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers is arguably the best batsman in world cricket these days, scoring runs with remarkable consistency in every format. With a full range of strokes and crafty improvisations, De Villiers is a bowler’s nightmare.He dispatches the good deliveries to the fence, and bad ones over it. While he has no particular weakness in his game, there are a few bowlers who’ve had a measure of De Villiers, having been able to dismiss him more regularly than others.Before he had found his feet properly at the international level, Shane Warne dismissed De Villiers in four out of six matches. Muttiah Muralitharan played just two Tests against him in 2006, dismissing him three times.Here’s a list of bowlers who got the measure of AB deVilliers:

#5 Mitchell Johnson

5 times in Tests

3 times in ODIs

The De Villiers-Johnson duel made for an interesting watch, as it came at a time when both were on top of their game. De Villiers was the highest run getter for South Africa when they hosted Australia in 2013-2014, averaging 56 with the bat. Mitchell Johnson was at his devastating best in the series as well, getting 22 wickets in three matches, including two five-wicket hauls.

He dismissed De Villiers four times in the Test series, getting him twice in the Centurion Test. He also dismissed De Villiers three times in a single ODI series in 2009, getting him caught twice and LBW once. He dismissed him cheaply for two in Durban (2009), as the Proteas were shot out for 145 in response to Australia’s 286.