South Africa crushed West Indies by 257 runs in a Pool B match held at Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney on Friday. It was an important match for the Proteas, because had they lost, then South Africa would have come under huge pressure to win all the remaining three matches to stay alive in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
AB de Villiers hits fastest ODI 150 in South Africa World Cup win
However, AB de Villiers ensured an emphatic victory for South Africa with his blitzkrieg 162* from just 66 deliveries with 8 sixes and 17 boundaries. The crowd went frenzied with each shot of the Proteas skipper. The chanting of AB! AB! AB could be clearly heard in the stadium. South Africa won the toss and opted to bat first.
The dismissal of Quinton De Kock (18) gave an initial breakthrough to the West Indies, but could not dampen the spirit of mighty Proteas. Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis rotated the strike well and both batsmen scored their half centuries in the match. Du Plessis (62) was caught by Ramdin off Gayle’s bowl. The scoreboard of South African inning was 145/2.
Amla’s inning also didn’t last long, the batsman was dismissed LBW off Chris Gayle on 65. The score was 146/3. Losing any more wickets would have brought the Proteas under deep trouble. However, Rilee Rossouw and Ab De Villiers went on rampage and not only ensured a big total on board, but also kept the game out of the hands of the Carribean team.
Rossouw played a blinder and scored 61-run knock with 6 fours and a six with just 39 deliveries. He built a magnificent 134-run partnership with the South African skipper before was caught by Ramdin off Andre Russell. On the other hand Ab De Villiers almost repeated his inning in Centurion (South Africa) when he scored world fastest ODI century. The 31-year-old right handed batsman reached his fifty in just 30 balls while he completed his next fifty in just 22 balls. Eventually his 20th ODI ton came in just 52 ball.
Soon the flamboyant batsman reached 150 in just 64 deliveries (Fastest 150 in ODI) and created a world record. At the end of the inning, Proteas piled a mammoth 408 runs on board. Chasing a huge 408 runs to win, the Carribean team received a severe blow when Chris Gayle (3) was dismissed early. The subsequent dismissals of Marlon Samuels (0), Jonathan Carter (10), Dwane Smith (31), Dinesh Ramdin (22) and Darren Swamy (5) completely broke the backbone of West Indian batting line-up.
Amongst Proteas bowlers; Imran Tahir bowled brilliantly and took 5-wickets. Kyle Abott and Morkel also supported him well, picking up 2 wickets each. Steyn also picked up 1 wicket. As far as West Indian batting is concerned, apart from Jason Holder 56 (48b, 3 fours & 4 sixes), other West Indian batsmen seemed completely clueless about South Africa’s lethal bowling attack. The team was bowled out for 151 only at the end of 33.1 overs.
Tags: AB de Villiers, Cricket World Cup, ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, SCG, South Africa, Sydney Cricket Ground, West Indies
