AB de Villiers holds several records in ODI cricket. In the third ODI between New Zealand and South Africa in Wellington on Saturday, the Proteas limited-overs skipper added yet another feather to his illustrious career.
South Africa won the toss and chose to bat in the third ODI and they were given a fine start by Quinton de Kock who slammed his fifth consecutive fifty-plus score. However, the loss of two quick wickets brought de Villiers out to the middle. The dashing batsman settled into his groove immediately and he went past 9000 runs in ODIs in the fourth ball of the 24th over when he clubbed New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson to the deep mid wicket fence.
In the process, de Villiers became the fastest to reach 9000 runs in ODIs, taking just 205 innings and 214 ODIs to reach the landmark. The previous best was held by formr India captain Sourav Ganguly, who took 236 ODIs and 228 innings to reach the landmark. Ganguly achieved the feat in the ODI against Australia in Melbourne in 2004.
Player | Opposition | Matches | Innings |
AB de Villiers | New Zealand | 214 | 205 |
Sourav Ganguly | Australia | 236 | 228 |
Sachin Tendulkar | South Africa | 242 | 235 |
Brian Lara | Australia | 246 | 239 |
Ricky Ponting | South Africa | 248 | 242 |
Jacques Kallis | England | 256 | 242 |
De Villiers sits on top of an illustrious pile and he is also the fastest South African to get to the mark, emulating his former team-mate Jacques Kallis’ mark of 242 innings.
The South Africa skipper holds plenty of records in ODIs. He holds the record for the fastest fifty, the fastest 100 and the fastest 150. De Villiers blasted the fastest fifty off just 16 balls and a hundred off just 31 balls against West Indies in Johannesburg in 2015 while he blasted the fastest 150 off just 64 balls also against the West Indies in the 2015 World Cup game in Sydney.
Source: HindustanTimes