On this day, 2015 AB de Villiers smashed the second fastest World Cup century and fastest ever 150 in ODIs, against West Indies in a Pool B match of ICC World Cup 2015 at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). South Africa won the match by 257-runs.
The right-handed de Villiers exhibited his standard innovative batting shots and fired to his century in no time; which came of just 52 balls. But he missed out the fastest World Cup ton by 2 deliveries. In process de Villiers continued to hammer the bowlers and returned to the pavilion undefeated. The record of fastest World Cup ton belongs to Kevin O’Brien of Ireland, who hit a 50-ball 100 against England in 2011 edition in Bangalore.
He set a new record in ODI history, scoring 150 off just 64 balls. He holds the records of fastest 50 (16 balls), 100 (31) and 150 (64) in 50-over international cricket.
Woweeeeee that's some serious hitting by the best batter in the world @ABdeVilliers17 Bow down wow what a performance @ICCW0rldCup
— David Warner (@davidwarner31) February 27, 2015
And to think @ABdeVilliers17 almost didn't play today because he was suffering from gastro and fever the whole of last night. What a champ!
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) February 27, 2015
Top 11 Fastest 150 Scores in ODIs
| Balls | Player | OPP | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64 | AB de Villiers (SA) | WI | Sydney | Feb-27-2015 |
| 83 | Shane Watson (Aus) | BAN | Mirpur | Apr-11-2011 |
| 92 | Luke Ronchi (NZ) | SL | Dunedin | Jan-23-2015 |
| 95 | Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) | ENG | Leeds | Jul-01-2006 |
| 99 | Ricky Ponting (Aus) | SA | Johannesburg | Mar-12-2006 |
| 100 | H Gibbs (SA) | AUS | Johannesburg | Mar-12-2006 |
| 107 | D Ramdin (WI) | WI | St Kitts | Aug-25-2014 |
| 109 | L Vincent (NZ) | ZIM | Bulawayo | Aug-24-2005 |
| 109 | G Bailey (AUS) | IND | Nagpur | Oct-30-2013 |
| 110 | A Gilchrist (AUS) | ZIM | Bellerive Oval | Jan-16-2004 |
| 112 | V Sehwag (IND) | WI | Indore | Dec-08-2011 |
Entering the final 10 overs on 53, de Villiers robbed 19 boundaries of which seven cleared the fence, taking Windies captain Jason Holder for 34 and 30 off two separate overs. West Indies captain Jason Holder was looted for 104 runs in 10 overs. His final bowling analysis read 10-2-104-1, which is the most expensive 10-over spell in World Cup history.
| Player | Overs | Mdns | Runs | Wkts | Econ | Team | OPP | Venue | Match Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M Lewis | 10 | 0 | 113 | 0 | 11.3 | AUS | SA | Johannesburg | March 12, 2006 |
| Wahab Riaz | 10 | 0 | 110 | 0 | 11 | PAK | ENG | Nottingham | August 30, 2016 |
| B Kumar | 10 | 0 | 106 | 1 | 10.6 | IND | SA | Mumbai | October 25, 2015 |
| N Pradeep | 10 | 0 | 106 | 0 | 10.6 | SL | IND | Mohali | December 13, 2017 |
| MC Snedden | 12 | 1 | 105 | 2 | 8.75 | NZ | ENG | The Oval | June 9, 1983 |
| T Southee | 10 | 0 | 105 | 0 | 10.5 | NZ | IND | Christchurch | March 8, 2009 |
| D Vitori | 9 | 0 | 105 | 1 | 11.66 | ZIM | NZ | Napier | February 9, 2012 |
| J Holder | 10 | 2 | 104 | 1 | 10.4 | WI | SA | Sydney | February 27, 2015 |
| Vinay Kumar | 9 | 0 | 102 | 1 | 11.33 | IND | AUS | Bengaluru | November 2, 2013 |
| Dawlat Zadran | 10 | 1 | 101 | 2 | 10.1 | AFG | AUS | Perth | March 4, 2015 |
What De Villiers said
“I had some stomach problems last night, I didn’t eat much and had a very rough night. But the doctor gave me an injection and I was on my way.
“The credit must go to the guys up front for setting a base. Rilee [Rossouw] inspired me a bit with his effort and that affected how I played. After timing a few I got the momentum behind me.
“The main thing is to know your own game, know your strengths and weaknesses and when to home in on the former.
“I enjoyed myself out there. I earned the right to have a go at the bowlers in the latter stages of the innings.”
