Fastest one-day international century -AB de Villiers
South Africa’s batsman AB de Villiers has scored the fastest-ever one-day
international century during his side’s run-laden innings against the West
Indies on Sunday.
The
Proteas’ captain needed only 31 deliveries to reach three figures in the second
ODI in Johannesburg, five fewer than the previous record holder, New Zealand’s
Corey Anderson, who needed 36 balls to reach a century, also against West Indies, last year.
De
Villiers had earlier broken Sanath Jayasuriya’s 19-year-old record for the
fastest ODI fifty, taking a mere 16 deliveries to achieve the feat by launching
Jason Holder over the long-off boundary.
He needed
a further 15 balls to break Anderson’s year-old fastest ODI century record and
any West Indian hopes that De Villiers would subsequently relax were soon
dismissed as he and Hashim Amla continued to pepper the New Wanderers Stadium
boundary.
De
Villiers soon set his sights on breaking another record - the most sixes in an
individual ODI innings - and equalled the record Rahul Sharma set in 2013
against Australia when he smashed his 16th maximum on the penultimate ball of
the penultimate over.
The
wicketkeeper-batsman could not score another to make the record his own, however,
when he went for another huge hit off Andre Russell and was caught at deep
extra cover with two balls left having scored 149 from 44 balls.
The
Proteas ended their innings on 439 for two, four runs shy of the highest ever
ODI score by a team - set by Sri Lanka in 2006 against the Netherlands.
Earlier,
South Africa’s openers Amla and Rilee Rossouw both scored centuries as they
made 247 in just over 38 overs for the first wicket. Rossouw made 128 from 115
balls before he was caught at mid-off to give Taylor a wicket, while Amla
finished unbeaten on 153 from 142 deliveries.
Fastest
ODI centuries
31 balls AB de Villiers v West Indies, 2015
36 Corey Anderson v West Indies, 2014
37 Shahid Afridi v Sri Lanka, 1996
44 Mark Boucher v Zimbabwe, 2006
45 Brian Lara v Bangladesh, 2006
45 Shahid Afridi v India, 2005
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