AB de Villiers was born on February 17, 1984. Starting as just another promising cricketer from South Africa, de Villiers grew into one of the best cricketers to play for the country and played a big role in the Proteas being one of the best Test sides in the lates 2000s and early 2010s. He is also one of the few cricketers who cracked all the formats of the game and good adapt easily to the changing demands of the shorter formats and the extreme conditions of the longer formats. His high range in the limited over games and the ability to access any part of the ground made fans nickname him as Mr. 360. Happy Birthday AB de Villiers! Fans Wish Cricket's 'Mr 360' As Ex-South Africa National Cricket Team Star Turns 41.

The shot-making ability and power of AB de Villiers came together with his ability to adapt to the pace of the game in the One-Day International format. Playing 228 ODI matches throughout his career, AB de Villiers has scored 9577 runs. It was a shock that he would take a retirement so near to the 10000 runs mark but having an eye problem in the later stages of his career, de Villiers opted to hang up his boots. He has 25 centuries in ODI cricket and some of the knocks went to become iconic in his career. In this article, we will look back at three of his best ODI knocks on the special occasion of his 41st birthday.

149 in 44 Balls Against West Indies in 2015

One of the greatest spectacles fans have ever witnessed in ODI cricket came from the bat of AB de Villiers in 2015. It was just ahead of the IC ODI World Cup 2015 when South Africa were playing West Indies at Johannesburg and AB de Villiers cut loose coming in a strong position. He absolutely dismantled the West Indies bowlers and completed his century in just 31 deliveries. He eventually ended up with 149 runs off 44 balls and ended up playing one of the best knocks in ODI cricket history. Given that he wrote in his autobiography that he was not feeling best before entering the field makes it more special.

AB de Villiers 149 in 44 Balls Against West Indies Highlights

162* in 66 Balls Against West Indies in 2015

This knock came just a few months after the previous one during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 group stage. AB de Villiers had always had the likings to the West Indies bowling attack and he opened assault on them once again at Sydney. He struck 17 fours and 8 sixes on his way to 162 and helped South Africa score a massive 408 and secure a win against West Indies. South Africa went to the semifinal of that World Cup but eventually lost to New Zealand despite AB de Villiers' best efforts.

AB de Villiers 162* in 66 Balls Against West Indies Highlights

176 in 104 Balls Against Bangladesh in 2017

It is said that players hit a peak and with age, the peak diminishes. But until AB de Villiers had an eye problem, he continued to be better with every passing day. His highest score in ODIs came long after arguably his top two ODI knocks, in 2017. That was the year when de Villiers was in good form and it reflected in October 2017 at Paarl against Bangladesh. He scored 176 runs in 104 balls, which was rather slower but also side the ability of de Villiers to build an innings when needed unlike the previous two occasions when he came in with runs already on board. AB de Villiers Returns to Cricket, To Lead Game Changers South Africa in World Championship of Legends 2025 (Watch Video).

AB de Villiers 176 Against Bangladesh Highlights

Only three innings in ODIs and they are enough to tell a lot of the player AB de Villiers is. He could come in early with the team not in its best position and stitch a partnership, build innings playing long. Or he could come in with runs on board and give it an absolute boost showing his stroke-making ability scoring runs all over the ground. This is the reason, he had the best numbers in ODIs although he is also well appreciated in T20s and Tests.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 17, 2025 11:14 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).