Careers at home
Since 2003, AB de Villiers has played for the Northerns in the South African First Class. Since 2004, he has played in the Sunfoil Series, the Momentum One Day Cup, and the Ram Slam T20 Challenge for the Titans Multiply.
Before he was picked for international Test matches, de Villiers had only played 16 first-class games.
IPL’s History
He played for the Delhi Daredevils for the first three years of the IPL. Then, in 2011, he moved on to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). ABD will wear the RCB jersey again in the 13th IPL, which will be held in Dubai this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He has scored 4395 runs in 154 IPL games, with an average of 39.50 and a strike rate of 151.23. There are 33 half-centuries and 3 centuries in it. In 2015, he got 133 runs without getting out against Mumbai Indians.
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After AB de Villiers played for a short time in the first-class league and impressed the selectors, he was put in the Test league. AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn both played their first Test match on December 17, 2004, against England. They were both 20 years old.
ABD quickly won over the cricket experts when, in his fourth Test innings, he hit a well-played 52-run innings that saved South Africa from losing. During the series, he also scored his first Test century, a smooth 109 on his home ground in Centurion. ABD had shown that he belonged at this level in just one series.
After a short slump in 2006 and 2007, de Villiers got back on track early in 2008 by hitting 103 not out off 109 balls against the West Indies in Durban.
In the first Test at Perth, De Villiers scored a century that helped South Africa beat the second-highest-ever fourth innings target of 414 with six wickets left. This was South Africa’s first Test win in Australia in 15 years. It also seemed to go a long way toward changing the balance of power in world cricket, where Australia had been the best team for over a decade.
AB de Villiers is known for his attacking style of cricket, but he can also play defence when the situation calls for it.
South Africa was trying to save the Adelaide Test against Australia during their tour Down Under in 2012-13. De Villiers fought against his natural instincts and dead-batted his way to a 33-ball score in one of the most exciting draws ever.
ODI Career
On February 2, 2005, AB played his first ODI against England in Bloemfontein. England batted first, and after 50 overs, they had a score of 270/5. South Africa also got 270 runs, but they lost eight wickets, tying the game. AB got 20 points out of 56 balls.
ABD got his first ODI hundred against West Indies in the World Cup Super 8 game on April 10, 2007. He hit 146 from just 130 balls, with 5 sixes and 12 fours.
The South African team made it all the way to the final of the quadrennial World Cup because of how well he played. On his way to the semi-finals, ABD hit 150 runs against West Indies in 64 balls, which was the fastest ODI 150 ever. he also score fastest century in ODI.
Career in T20I
AB is the face of change in modern cricket, and his limited-overs achievements are more about quality than quantity.
On February 24, 2006, at the Wanderers Stadium, he played his first T20 game against Australia. De Villiers only faced 3 balls, but he did not score any runs and was still not out.
On February 21, 2016, against England, de Villiers got to fifty in just 21 balls, which was the fastest T20I fifty by a South African. He finished the innings with 79 runs in 29 balls, and South Africa won the T20I series with a perfect 3-0 record.
There were rumours in January 2020 that de Villiers was in talks to join the South African T20I team again for the 2020 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. de Villiers himself confirmed the rumours, but since COVID-19 pushed the World Cup back a year, fans are waiting with bated breath for AB de Villiers to make a comeback.
Captaincy
After South Africa was knocked out of the World Cup in 2011, de Villiers was named captain of their ODI and T20I teams in June. Due to the amount of work and pressure, he gave up being the T20I captain at the beginning of 2013. However, he kept playing as South Africa’s main batsman and first choice wicket-keeper.
On January 11, 2012, at Paarl, AB’s first international match as captain was an ODI against Sri Lanka. In 50 overs, South Africa scored 301/8. Sri Lanka was bowled out for only 43 runs in the 21st over, which was their lowest score in ODIs. This was their worst loss in terms of runs.
He has led South Africa in 103 ODIs, 59 of which they have won. The Proteas made it to the semifinals of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup under his leadership.
AB has only been captain for three Tests. Of those three, two were wins and one was a loss. He has been captain for 18 matches in the shortest format, and he has won eight of them.
