Birthday special: AB de Villiers – 5 amazing records held by the genius

AB de Villiers, popularly known as Mr.360 is celebrating his 40th birthday today. He is among the top batters to have played in the last decade. The right-hander has been a great servant to South African cricket over the years and is among the few batters to have averaged more than 50 in ODI and Test formats. He plays all the shots in the book and here are five amazing records that AB holds across formats.

Fastest century in ODIs

AB de Villiers holds the record for the fastest century in ODIs. It was one of the best-ever knocks played in the format for a long time. The openers Riley Rossouw and Hashim Amla scored centuries, providing the perfect platform for de Villiers. De Villiers teed off from the 38th over after coming into the crease. He finished with 149 in 44 balls. De Villiers reached his century in just 31 balls with 16 sixes and 9 fours in the innings.

Fastest fifty in ODIs

De Villiers in his innings of 149 against the West Indies broke several records and he reached his fifty in just 16 deliveries to go past the fastest fifty record held by Sanath Jayasuriya. This was one of the best innings that has been ever seen in the history of the ODI format and he hit sixes towards all parts of the ground.

Fastest 150 in ODIs

This was in the 2015 World Cup when AB de Villiers took the world by storm with an unbeaten 162 in just 66 balls. Strangely, the record for the fastest 150 also came against the same opponent of West Indies and De Villiers has shown a lot of liking towards the side. South Africa went on to win the game by a massive 257-run margin.

Second-best score for South Africa in Tests

De Villiers played a massive knock in 2010 against Pakistan in the second Test and it turned out to be the second-highest Test score for South Africa in the longer format. In the first innings, De Villiers hit an unbeaten 278 in 418 balls with 23 fours and six sixes in his innings. The right-hander showed the world of his capabilities with the bat through the innings.

Most sixes for South Africa in ODIs

De Villiers hit 204 maximums in his 11-year career, making him the South African with the most sixes in ODIs. He also holds the record for the most number of sixes in an innings by a South African batter. ABD is seventh on the overall list.