AB de Villiers surprised his fans and the world by announcing his retirement this week from all forms of the game, he was a masterclass on the field and a wonderful batsman to watch in any format of the game. The Proteas are going to miss a fine all-around performer from their side, but if I had to choose one from his several achievements, at this point, it would be his fastest ODI hundred against the West Indies in 2015. Eventually, in that ‘Pink ODI’ which saw records tumble, AB’s blitzkrieg performance of 149 came off just 44 balls, in the process, he had hit 16 sixes and 9 fours and had broken the record of the fastest 50 in an ODI in just 16 balls! Not to exaggerate, but it was a phenomenal knock and a definite high point of his career. Mind you, for de Villiers to break the record, it took him just 382 days since Corey Anderson had hit the fastest century in only 36 balls vs the West Indies in 2014.
Against the backdrop of AB’s untimely and surprising announcement on 23-May, I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate one of his stupendous achievements with a ball-by-ball account of the 100 runs he scored off just 31-balls. To say that his knock was mind-numbing is a gross distortion of reality, he scored 92 runs in just boundaries smashing 8 fours and 10 sixes!
