AB de Villiers hits fastest century in ODI history off 31 balls against West Indies
Sunday 18 January 2015 21:19, UK
AB de Villiers struck the fastest hundred in one-day international history off 31 balls as South Africa beat West Indies by 148 runs to go 2-0 up in the series after racking up 439-2 in the second ODI at Johannesburg.
De Villiers blazed 149 off 44 balls, beating the previous quickest century scored by New Zealand’s Corey Anderson against the West Indies off 36 balls in 2014, to power South Africa to their highest ever ODI score.
Hashim Amla (153no) and Rilee Rossouw (128) also struck hundreds – sharing a world record opening stand of 247 in 38.3 overs – but it was De Villiers’ onslaught of 16 sixes and nine fours that cut the Windies’ attack to shreds.
The 30-year-old dominated a second-wicket stand of 192 runs off 68 balls with Amla, Sulieman Benn (0-49 off 10 overs) the only bowler to escape severe punishment.
De Villiers had earlier broken Sanath Jayasuriya's 19-year record for the fastest ODI fifty, needing just 16 balls to achieve the feat.
West Indies – who opted to field – struggled to make inroads from the off until Benn won an lbw appeal against Rossouw, who had 31 at the time, only for the decision to be reversed on review because the opener had got a bottom edge on the ball.
Rossouw went on to strike his maiden ODI century before chipping a catch to mid-off of Jerome Taylor, but there was no respite for the visitors as Amla registered his highest ODI score from 142 balls as De Villiers attacked from the other end.
West Indies had little answer as De Villiers equalled Rohit Sharma's record for the most number of sixes in an ODI innings and took South Africa to the brink of eclipsing the highest total in ODI history, which remains the 443-9 Sri Lanka scored against Netherlands in 2006.
South Africa’s previous highest ODI total was the 438-9 they scored against Australia at Johannesburg in 2006 but that was surpassed as 79 runs came off the final five overs.
Set a world record 440 to win, West Indies lost talisman Chris Gayle for 19 as he attempted to pull Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander trapped Leon Johnson lbw for a single to make it 63-2.
Farhaan Behardien picked up the key wicket of Dwayne Smith, caught at long off for 64 off 65 balls just when it appeared the opener might be set for a special innings of his own.
Marlon Samuels (40) and Jonathan Carter (40) made solid contributions, while Denesh Ramdin reached his sixth one-day international fifty off 45 balls with four fours and one six but Andre Russell hit the very next ball – his first – from Imran Tahir straight to deep midwicket.
Ramdin’s resistance came to an end when he skied a catch to Faf du Plessis to become Morne Morkel’s 150th ODI victim and West Indies ended up shy of 300 despite an unbroken eighth-wicket stand of 38 between Darren Sammy and Holder.
De Villiers’ innings ball-by-ball
Ball one (Over 38.4): FOUR. Hits slower ball from Jerome Taylor straight for four.
Ball two (38.5): TWO. Edges Taylor down to third man.
Ball three (38.6): ONE. Keeps the strike with a single down to third man.
Ball four (39.1): ONE. Takes a single off Andre Russell.
Ball five (39.3): FOUR. Hits Russell over mid-off.
Ball six (39.4): SIX. Pulls Russell over square leg for first maximum.
Ball seven (39.5): FOUR. Four more over mid-off.
Ball eight (39.6): SIX. Scoop over backward square.
Ball nine (40.2): SIX. Back on strike following an Amla single, De Villiers clubs Taylor over long-off.
Ball 10 (40.3): NO RUN. Taylor slower delivery keeps De Villiers to a rare dot ball.
Ball 11 (40.4): TWO. Squeezes a Taylor yorker to long leg.
Ball 12 (40.5): TWO. Two more following a short delivery.
Ball 13 (40.6): LEG BYE. Reverse paddle keeps him on strike.
Ball 14 (41.1): ONE. Drives Jason Holder straight for a single.
Ball 15 (41.3): SIX. Smashes full toss over backward square leg.
Ball 16 (41.4): SIX. Despatches Holder down the ground into the stands to bring up the fastest ODI half-century in history.
Ball 17 (41.5): SIX. Just clears the boundary at long-on.
Ball 18 (41.6): FOUR. Smashed through cover as 24 are taken off Holder's over.
Ball 19 (42.2): SIX. Taylor taken for another maximum via a top edge.
Ball 20 (42.3): ONE. Single off a yorker.
Ball 21 (42.5): FOUR. Reverse paddles Taylor on the full to the third man boundary.
Ball 22 (42.6): ONE. Keeps strike with single to deep midwicket.
Ball 23 (43.1): ONE. Dwayne Smith brought on and limits De Villiers to just one.
Ball 24 (43.5): NO RUN. De Villiers hits a full-length delivery back to Smith.
Ball 25 (43.6): FOUR. High full toss edged to boundary, with the delivery called a no-ball.
Ball 26 (43.6): FOUR. De Villiers drives, the ball landing just inside the boundary rope.
Ball 27 (44.5): NO RUN. Good Russell yorker.
Ball 28 (44.6): SIX. De Villiers moves across the crease to flick Russell over backward-square leg.
Ball 29 (45.3): FOUR. Moves into the 90s with a smash down the ground off Holder.
Ball 30 (45.4): SIX. Steps across his stumps again to lift another shot over backward-square leg.
Ball 31: (45.5): SIX: Gets the world record with a maximum over deep midwicket, taking the batsman to 104.
