You can no longer see Mr. 360 degree batsman AB de Villiers playing as a player on the cricket field. That is because he himself is saying that he is retiring from all format cricket.
De Villiers, what he played on the international cricket field was for the South African team. But, he won the hearts of fans from different parts of the world. He has been playing in cricket leagues around the world despite saying ‘good-bye’ to international cricket with 2018. Now he has put an end to that with his retirement announcement.
Currently, the world is responding to ‘ABD’ with love. Proof of that are the posts that are posted on social websites. Everyone is singing their favorite De Villiers innings.
Let’s re-record some of those great innings here. Before that let’s look at his accomplishments.
Start ABD!
Usually during adolescence all children are just play children. They will run here and there. But ABD’s childhood was a little different.
Today he is a world-renowned cricketer. However, with cricket, he has achieved many national achievements in sports like rugby, golf and tennis. He has finally ‘ticked’ the game of cricket as his career.
He played in the Under-19 cricket team for the South African team and was named in the senior team. His first-class cricket record is also stunning.
He was selected to play in the Test series against England in 2004 at the age of twenty. ABD was the superman of modern day cricket. Strong enough to stand alone on the field and finish the game. That is why he was invited to play in the recently concluded T20 World Cup series for the national team even when he retired from international cricket.
The introduction of ABD, however, is something that is hailed in Test cricket as the original form of cricket. He scored 28 in his first innings. He recorded his first half century in the Boxing Day Test. The run chase of the ABD, which began then, was flooded with wildfires.
He has scored 20,014 runs for his country in Tests, ODIs and T20s.
De Villiers has also played in the T20 league series around the world. He has scored 9424 runs in 340 T20 matches in total. This includes 59 half-cents and 4 cents.
RCB and ABD!
De Villiers has played for Delhi and Bangalore in IPL cricket. He has been playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore since the 2011 season. He has scored a total of 4,491 runs for Bangalore. Similarly, highest runs (5162), highest sixes (251), highest run-scorer in a single innings (133 *), highest strike rate (151.68), highest half-century (40), highest century (3), highest fours (413). , ABD has created many IPL records as fastest century (43 balls). He is thus the top 10 ranked batsman in all the box of all time statistics of IPL cricket.
ABD Achievement Drops!
> ABD, who owns the action game, faced 220 balls in the second innings of the Adelaide Test match on the 2012 Australian tour and scored only 33 runs. He added 169 runs in the next match of the series to lead the team to victory. The victory in that match helped the South African team to win the series as well.
> ABD, batting in the 30th over of the 2015 50-over World Cup series against the West Indies, scored 162 * off 66 balls. South Africa won the match by 257 runs. De Villiers played brilliantly as captain. However, South Africa lost to New Zealand in the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup.
> De Villiers has scored fifty in 12 consecutive Tests.
> De Villiers is also the highest catcher in a single Test match. Total 11 c.
> Has scored hundreds in three consecutive ODI innings.
> He has 16 sixes in a single innings of an ODI.
> Has scored 9000 runs in ODIs in 205 innings.
> Tests, ODIs, T20s, including all the matches 14 times out of 90 runs (90’s).
ABD has many such achievements. Every match he played cricket was a golden moment. He is a player who has won the minds of the fans though he has not won trophies.
Another Level Approach to ABD!
The attitude that ABD exhibits on the field can be quite daunting to watch. It can be listed as long as you start running here and there with a pulse while doing the field and keep inspiring fellow players.
He makes it easy to make difficult catches without showing any tension on the face. Always with a smiling face he will not react much whether he succeeds or fails. He would cheer with the team and move on even if the wickets fell. It was only during the defeat in the 2015 World Cup semi-final that he expressed his emotions uncontrollably. There were tears on the field that day.
He also excels at playing innovative cricket shots at bat. That’s why fans affectionately call him a 360 degree batsman. No captain can do a field set against him. They will not have that problem anymore. Because he is retired.
The cricketing world and its fans will surely miss AB de Villiers.
Miss You ABD!
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