AB de Villiers retires: Top 5 de Villiers knocks in Test cricket

Abraham Benjamin de Villiers is one of the few batsmen to have played in the modern era who could adapt and play on any sort of pitch. On his day, he had the ability to torment the best bowlers (and even the best bowling attacks) in world cricket.

As his career went along, he came to be known as Mr 360, for his ability to hit shots all around the ground against all kinds of bowlers. He might come across as a wonderful limited-overs batsman but his numbers in Test cricket are stunning as well. He time and again delivered for South Africa in the whites as much as coloured clothing.

de Villiers made his international debut against England in 2004 in a Test match at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth. In that series, he didn’t quite take off but South Africa gave him a full 5-match series and as the series went along he got better and delivered a match-saving performance, scoring 92 and 109 (his maiden Test century).

He did take a break from Test cricket for almost a couple of years so that he could refresh himself and recover from all the niggles.

He looked in terrific form recently and was by far South Africa’s best batsman in the last two Test series (against India and Australia). He looked in wonderful touch even in the IPL but he has finally decided to retire from all forms of international cricket. It was a shocking decision but he feels he is ‘tired’ and has ‘run out of gas’.

Hence, as AB de Villiers goes away from international cricket, we look back at some of his best Test knocks.

Special Mentions – 33 vs Australia (2012 – Adelaide), 217 vs India (2008 - Ahmedabad)

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#5 126* vs Australia, Port Elizabeth (2018)

AB de Villiers was the difference between the two sides

After returning from a two-year hiatus from Test cricket, AB de Villiers was South Africa’s best batsman on show against India on pitches that favoured the quicks a lot as the ball moved around quite a bit. He carried his form into the series against Australia and was the standout South African batsman in the first Test. He scored an unbeaten 71 before he ran out of partners in the first innings.

In the second Test, the Proteas were already 1-0 down in the series and in response to Australia’s first innings score of 243, the South African top-order failed to deliver yet again as they were reduced to 227/7 and it seemed like de Villiers who was batting at one end would once again be left stranded.

The South African No. 4 walked out to bat at 67/2 and once again continued from where he had left off in the first Test. He was fluent as he drove the ball well and countered the threat of the Aussie pacers. He also played Nathan Lyon, who was looking good, quite skilfully. But when the seventh South African wicket fell, de Villiers was on 53. Unlike the first game, he found support as the Proteas lower-order took the hosts to 382.

De Villiers ended with a magnificent 126 and he was unbeaten once again. He was brilliant as he played the Australian trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood with utmost ease. He had a strike-rate of 86.30 in that innings as he set-up the game for South Africa to level the series 1-1.

#4 65 vs India, Cape Town (2018)

AB de Villiers counter-attacked beautifully and pulled South Africa out of trouble.

AB de Villiers had just returned from a two-year break from Test cricket. He had been dealing with niggles and was playing a lot of cricket and had largely carried the South African batting line-up on his shoulders.

He looked good in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe and scored a half-century. In the first game of the series against India, he might not have got a huge score but this performance set up the series for South Africa.

On a green wicket where the ball was moving around quite a lot, de Villiers walked out to bat with South Africa at 7/2 (which soon became 12/3). Bhuvneshwar Kumar was on fire but the calm, composed South African No. 4 batsman came in and eased the nerves. He counter-attacked beautifully as he stroked his way to an excellent 65 and pulled his team out of trouble. His innings helped South Africa get to 286 which looked above par on that wicket.

Once again, in the second innings, he looked a class apart as he was the top-scorer and the last batsman to be dismissed. Hence, this performance would certainly go down as one of the better ones for AB de Villiers in Test match cricket.

#3 278* vs Pakistan, Abu Dhabi (2010)

it was de Villiers' second double ton in Tests

After the first Test ended in a tame draw, South Africa opted to bat first on a good pitch. However, they were rocked early as they were reduced to 33/3 inside the first hour.

Under pressure, de Villiers, who had a poor first game, strode out to bat even as Pakistani pacer Tanvir Ahmed had his tail up. Along with Jacques Kallis (105), he first resurrected the innings as they shared an excellent 179-run stand. But after the all-rounder’s departure, de Villiers took up the responsibility and took South Africa to a mammoth total of 584. He was unbeaten on 278 as he batted for more than 10 hours in the gruelling heat of Abu Dhabi.

He played the spinners exceptionally and was precise in his footwork. In his 418-ball vigil, he struck 23 fours and 6 sixes and was awarded the Man of the Match for his outstanding performance.

#2 174 vs England, Headingley (2008)

Ab de Villiers countered the English conditions well

It had been only three months since he had scored his maiden double century against India in tough conditions in Ahmedabad. He started the series in England with a fluent 42 but failed to kick on after getting set.

In the second Test, the South African bowlers did a wonderful job as they bowled England out for just 203. However, they lost wickets at regular intervals and were 143/4 when AB de Villiers joined Ashwell Prince in the middle. South Africa needed a partnership at that stage and with Prince batting well de Villiers complemented him beautifully. Sharing a 212-run stand with Prince for the 5th wicket, de Villiers helped South Africa take full control of the game.

But after the dismissal of Prince, who scored a superb 149, de Villiers who batted at No. 6 went on and scored a fantastic 174 (his 6th Test ton) as South Africa posted 522. De Villiers was superb as he batted 281 deliveries and was at the crease for 517 minutes.

South Africa then bowled England out for 327 and chased down 9 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

#1 106* vs Australia, Perth (2008)

de Villiers managed to pull off a magnificent chase

Chasing a target in the fourth innings of a Test match is never easy. The pitch is probably at its worst but there have been players who’ve stood up in critical situations and played some magnificent knocks. One such knock was played by AB de Villiers.

After Australia scored 375 batting first, South Africa could manage only 281 in their first innings. AB de Villiers was the joint top-scorer with 63 in that innings. Australia then built on the lead and set South Africa a daunting target of 414. If the Proteas had to get those, they had to create history as only once had a target of more than 414 been chased before.

In reply, South Africa got a good start as Graeme Smith struck a very good hundred. Hashim Amla contributed with a good half-century as well. But the two batsmen were dismissed in the span of just 3 overs and it left South Africa at 179/3. At that stage, 414 looked a little too much despite the start they had got.

But AB de Villiers batted like a champion as he took South Africa home in what was a memorable run-chase. He scored a magnificent unbeaten 106 as he shared two crucial stands with Jacques Kallis (124 for the fourth wicket) and with JP Duminy (unbroken 111 for the fifth wicket). Kallis and Duminy contributed with fifties but it was de Villiers who was the mainstay. He batted and frustrated the Aussie bowlers and eventually took South Africa to a record run-chase.