Happy Birthday AB de Villiers: A look at some of his notable records and performances in IPL

AB de Villiers, three words enough to ignite truckloads of emotion among cricket fans across the globe and strike fear even within the best of bowlers. Be it batting an entire day without even thinking of hitting a boundary to save a Test match to reverse sweeping a 90 mph delivery for a six in white-ball cricket, de Villiers has done it all effortlessly and quite regularly on the cricket field. The legendary South African cricketer turns 38 on Thursday, 17 February.

AB de Villiers retired from cricket in 2021. Image: Sportzpics for IPL

Judging a sportsperson by his numbers alone is never ideal but de Villiers is one of those rare cricketers whose stats do justice to the talent he possesses. Mr 360, as de Villiers is popularly known as, mainly due to his ability to score at almost every part of the ground, amassed 8,765 runs in 114 Tests at an average of 50.66. He also has 22 hundreds in red-ball cricket. The former South Africa skipper's ODI numbers are as good if not better. In 228 matches, he has mustered 9,577 runs including 25 hundreds at a stunning average of 53.5 scored at a strike-rate of 101.1.

Born on 17 February 1984, AB de Villiers made his debut at the age of 20 in the international circuit. In his debut match, in 2004, the former South African batter showed glimpses of what he can do on the cricket field.

Owing to his performance graph, AB de Villiers became an important part of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Along with skipper Virat Kohli, Mr 360 surprised fans with many beautiful partnerships. Also, when RCB relied on the Proteas’ skills to save them in difficult situations or times, he rarely disappointed.

On AB de Villiers' birthday, here's a look at some of his best performances in Indian Premier League (IPL):

Most number of appearances for an overseas player: In the history of IPL, AB De Villiers holds the record for making most number of appearances so far among overseas cricketers. He has made 184 appearances in IPL, while Mumbai Indians (MI) cricketer Kieron Pollard, stands second with 178 appearances so far.

This year, RCB will be without South African star AB de Villiers for the first time in more than a decade. The now-retired batter had played for RCB from 2011 to 2021.

Most catches in a single season (non-wicketkeeper): During previous IPL seasons, AB De Villiers has taken some of the most spectacular catches. Furthermore, in the 2016 season, de Villiers overtook David Miller’s record of the most number of catches in the 14th season of IPL.

De Villiers took 19 catches in 16 games and was thus awarded the Best Fielder for the season. Also, he had scored 687 runs in 16 matches with an average of 52.84 at a strike-rate of 168.79.

Along with that, the South African star smacked 37 sixes and was just one six short of surpassing Kohli (38 sixes) to the Maximum Sixes award.

Surpassed Chris Gayle's record in IPL 2020: During this season, AB de Villiers scored 73 runs from 33 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). His outstanding performance helped RCB win the game by a massive 82 runs. Post the game, he won the Player of the Match award. Interestingly, AB de Villiers took home the prestigious award for the 22nd time in the history of the tournament.

Chris Gayle had 21 such awards in the IPL. It was followed by Rohit Sharma and David Warner. Meanwhile, MS Dhoni has 17 such awards to his name, tailed by Shane Watson

Highest partnerships for any wicket: Looking into IPL history, Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers have been involved in two highest run-yielding partnerships.

In IPL 2016, the duo put up the biggest one against the Gujarat Lions. They forged a 229-run stand, with De Villiers smashing 12 sixes and 10 fours. During that match, he scored 129 runs off 52 balls at a strike-rate of 248.07 while, Kohli scored 109 off 55 balls. He got dismissed when RCB’s score was 248/1.

The duo had grabbed headlines a year ago against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2015. During that match, de Villiers scored 133 off 59 balls and Kohli recorded 82 off 50 balls. This unbeaten partnership of 215 runs aided RCB with a gigantic total of 235. Despite Mumbai giving a tough fight, they fell short by 39 runs.

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