5 great bowlers AB de Villiers has been brilliant against

AB de Villiers is widely considered as the best batsman in the world

Sport is at its spectacular best when the greatest athletes come up against each other. Such battles are something that get the adrenaline pumping and make you wish for more. Most times such contests are closely fought, but sometimes one side of the coin trumps the other quite easily.

AB de Villiers is definitely the side of the coin that likes to dominate the best bowlers in the world and he has done so on numerous occasions in the past. Several world-class bowlers have had to face the wrath of the South African batsman.

Here are 5 such world-class bowlers, who have been taken apart by de Villiers:

5. Andrew Flintoff

Andrew Flintoff might have been renowned as an all-rounder during his playing days, but make no mistake, he was also one of the best swing bowlers in the world at the time. An average of 24.38 with the ball in ODIs is better than most world-class bowlers to have played the one-day game and that only goes on to show how good Flintoff was at his craft.

In 2009, Flintoff was bought for a then record fee of $1.55m by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and a lot was expected from the big Englishman. Instead, he turned to become one of the biggest flops in IPL history and ended up playing just 3 matches for the MS Dhoni-led side.

The last of those matches was against the Delhi Daredevils, who back then had a certain AB de Villiers in their ranks. The South African slammed his first T20 century in that match and took a special liking to Flintoff during the innings.

De Villiers faced 12 deliveries from the Preston-born cricketer and hit 34 runs at a strike-rate of 283.33. Most of the hitting came in the 19th over, when he took Flintoff for 21 runs from 5 balls, which included two sixes and two fours.

Watch highlights of de Villiers’ innings below:

4. Mitchell Starc

This is the only one of the five that came in the longest format of the game. You’d probably be expecting a name like Mitchell Starc to rank higher here, but this attack wasn’t as devastating as the other ones mentioned on the list.

AB de Villiers came into this match in late 2012 on the back of a 240-ball 33, which helped South Africa save a Test at Adelaide. His mindset, at Perth, though, was completely different. He was on the attack and scored 169 from just 184 balls, at a strike rate of 91.84, which is out of the world by Test cricket standards.

Although Starc wasn’t as lethal back then, he was still making a name for himself and in this very innings, picked up 6 wickets. But de Villiers took him for 7 fours, hitting 38 runs from 45 deliveries at a rate of 84.44 runs per 100 balls, which is again brilliant by Test standards.

Starc dismissed de Villiers, but the Pretoria-born batsman had done enough for the Proteas to register a famous Test series win Down Under.

Watch highlights of that innings below:

3. Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal was undisputedly the best spin bowler in the world before he was banned from bowling due to a suspect bowling action last year. Such was his dominance when he was at his peak, that he continued to top the ICC ODI rankings for bowlers months after his ban was imposed.

During South Africa’s tour to the UAE to play Pakistan, Ajmal came up against his biggest challenge – to bowl to AB de Villiers. The two went head-to-head throughout the series and it was the final ODI wherein de Villiers stamped his class and tackled the brilliant Pakistani spinner.

En route to a match-winning 115*, de Villiers slammed 30 runs from just 16 balls against Ajmal, which included 3 fours and 2 sixes. Incredibly, the Faisalabad-born cricketer just conceded 15 runs from the 44 deliveries he bowled at other South African batsmen in the innings.

2. Lasith Malinga

The most recent of the incidents mentioned here, AB de Villiers came into bat against the Mumbai Indians in an IPL match in 2015, with his side the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) requiring over 15 runs per over. Then, came a storm that had rarely been seen before in cricket.

The South African ODI captain did not take any time to get settled in and hit 14 runs (two fours and a six) from the first three deliveries he faced off Mitchell McClenaghan. MI’s captain Rohit Sharma was a worried man and brought back his ace bowler Lasith Malinga.

Malinga, who is widely considered as the greatest T20 bowler ever, proved his worth by dismissing Dinesh Karthik off the first delivery. While the catch was completed, the batsmen had crossed and what followed was a contest for the ages.

De Villiers tonked for Malinga for two consecutive sixes to start off with and then consolidated by picking up a two. The next delivery saw AB play an incredible reserve paddle sweep that brought a smile even on the Sri Lankan bowler’s face. He then finished the over with another four, slamming a glorious boundary through the cover region.

At the end of the over, de Villiers had taken Malinga for 22 runs in just 5 balls.

1. Dale Steyn

They might play for the same country, but the IPL has seen these two great friends face off on more than one occasion. And de Villiers has got the better of his international teammate not once, but twice.

Both came under very similar situations at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The first instance came in 2012, with RCB requiring 39 runs to win from just 3 overs. De Villiers was new to the crease but had no choice than to go after the bowling.

Steyn steamed into bowl and saw the first delivery of his over dispatched for a six. Two fours and a six followed, as de Villiers scored 23 runs in the over. That assault meant that the Bangalore-based franchise could win the match with an over to spare.

Two years later, de Villiers was at it again as he smashed Steyn for 22 runs from just 5 deliveries. This was when his side was staring at a defeat and needed 28 runs from just 2 overs. The highlight was de Villiers scooping Steyn for a six over fine-leg, off the final delivery of the over.