ABD started playing for his country in 2004. He scored a total of 20,014 runs in international cricket. He made 109 scores of fifty or more runs, 47 centuries, and received 39 Man of the Match awards. This is the second highest number of awards for any South African player and the 13th highest overall.
In T20 cricket, de Villiers is the second highest run-scorer for South Africa. He scored 1,672 runs, including 10 scores of fifty or more runs. As a former captain of the Proteas, he played for 12 years and delivered many outstanding performances.
Now, let’s look at his top five best performances in T20 matches.
5. 30 vs Sri Lanka at Hambantota – 2012
It was the last game in Group C of the 2012 ICC World Twenty20. South Africa played against Sri Lanka in Hambantota. Both teams were already in the next round, called the Super 8s.
Sri Lanka chose to field first after winning the toss. But the game got delayed because of rain. When they finally started playing, they had less time because many overs were lost. So, they decided to play just 7 overs each.
de Villiers started batting when South Africa’s score was 27/2 in 3 overs. He played well and hit a few sixes, helping South Africa to score faster. He made 30 runs from 13 balls before getting out. South Africa’s final score was 78/4 in 7 overs.
Sri Lanka only managed to score 46/5 in their 7 overs, so South Africa won the group. de Villiers was chosen as the best player of the match.
4. 64 vs Afghanistan – 2016
South Africa played a cricket match against England and lost. Then they played against Afghanistan. South Africa did well because Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis played well.
ABD, another player, started batting during the 12th over and hit many runs. He played very well with JP Duminy and together they added 76 runs. ABD scored 64 runs from 29 balls before getting out. South Africa scored 209 runs and won the match by 37 runs.
Even though ABD didn’t win the best player award, his batting helped South Africa win.
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3. 79 vs Scotland at London – 2009
South Africa played their first game of the 2009 World T20 against Scotland in London. When AB de Villiers started batting, South Africa was already doing well.
De Villiers hit many fours and sixes against the Scottish bowlers and couldn’t be stopped. South Africa scored over 200 runs and ended with 211/5, the highest score of the tournament.
De Villiers scored 79 runs from 34 balls without getting out. He hit 5 fours and 6 sixes, his best score in T20 International cricket.
Scotland could only manage 81 runs in response, the lowest score of the tournament, and got knocked out (they lost to New Zealand before).
De Villiers was chosen as the Man of the Match for his excellent performance.
2. 71 vs England at Johannesburg – 2016
In a big cricket match between England and South Africa, England had won some games, but South Africa was doing well. This was the last match of the series.
The match was held in Johannesburg. England batted first and scored 171 runs. Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan, and Joe Root played well.
South Africa started batting, and their players AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla started strong. de Villiers was hitting the ball hard and scoring lots of runs.
He hit many fours and sixes in one side of the field. He scored 71 runs from 29 balls before getting out.
South Africa easily chased the target and won the match before the game finished. AB de Villiers was named the best player of the match.
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1. 69 vs England at Chittagong, 2014
South Africa played their last Super 10 game in the 2014 World T20 against England. South Africa needed to win to go to the semi-finals, while England needed a win to keep playing.
The match was in Chittagong, and England won the coin toss and chose to let South Africa bat first.
South Africa got a good start thanks to Hashim Amla scoring 56 runs. After Amla got out, DeVilliers came to bat. South Africa’s score was going up slowly when DeVilliers started batting.
DeVilliers played really well, hitting many boundaries and sixes. He scored 69 runs from 28 balls, and South Africa’s total score was 196/5.
England tried hard, but they couldn’t reach South Africa’s score. South Africa made it to the semi-finals, but England was out of the competition.
DeVilliers was named the best player of the match for his performance.
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