Records tumble in South Africa v West Indies 2nd ODI
That AB de Villiers is one of the most complete batsmen in world cricket and can turn a match on its head with his range of audacious strokes was well established long ago. Every grain of his nous was on display in South Africa’s second One-Day International against West Indies at the New Wanderers Stadium, otherwise known as the Bull Ring, on Sunday (January 18), as he recorded the fastest half-century and century for the format and left the world mesmerised.
Here’s a look at some numbers from the second ODI:
2 This is the first occasion when both openers (Hashim Amla and Rilee Rossouw) have scored centuries in an ODI against West Indies.
3 It is also the first time three batsmen (Amla, Rossouw and de Villiers) have scored centuries in the same ODI innings.
12 In 3583 ODIs so far, this was the 12th score of 400 and more. So far, defending ICC Cricket World Cup champion India has scored 400 or more five times, followed by South Africa, which has done it thrice.
16 It took just 16 balls for De Villiers to reach his half-century. He broke the 19-year-old record held by Sri Lanka all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya, who scored the half-century in 17 balls.
16 De Villiers hit 16 sixes, equalling the record of India’s Rohit Sharma for the most number of sixes in an ODI innings, which Sharma had hit when he scored 209 in Bangalore against Australia.
17 Dwayne Smith bowled four overs giving away 68 runs and was hit for seven fours and four sixes. His economy rate is the worst for any ODI bowler delivering at least four overs.
17.19 Hashim Amla and de Villiers added 192 runs for the second wicket. The duo scored at a breathtaking rate of 17.19 runs per over, which is the highest for a stand of more that 150 runs for any wicket.
31 It took de Villiers just 31 balls to reach his century. He broke the record of New Zealand’s Corey Anderson, who scored a century in 36 balls on January 1, 2014, also against West Indies, at Queenstown Events Centre in New Zealand.
95 West Indies pacer Jerome Taylor gave away 98 runs from his ten overs, and was hit for 11 fours and two sixes, the most a West Indian bowler has gone for.
102 Hashim Amla remained unbeaten on 153 off 142 balls, his 18th ODI century. He took just 102 games to reach 18 ODI centuries, the quickest in ODIs.
338.63 When de Villiers was caught by Jonathan Carter in the 50th over off the bowling of Andre Russell, he had scored 149 off 44 balls and had hit nine fours and 16 sixes. He scored at a strike rate of 338.63, which is the highest in ODIs for a score of 40 or more.
363 The Wanderers in Johannesburg is a high scoring ground. The average score at the venue in the last four ODIs is 363. This venue also hosted the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 final when Australia scored 359 for 2.
439 South Africa scored 439 for 2 in its 50 overs, which is also its highest score in ODIs. The previous was 438 for 9 against Australia at the same venue. This score is also just four runs short of the highest total in ODI history, which Sri Lanka made against the Netherlands back in 2006.
The two sides will play each other in Sydney on February 27 in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. You can buy the tickets for this match here.