AB de Villiers has been the legend of this beautiful game with thunderous performances over the years. Cricket has been a lucky sport by having such calibre of players over the years. In the Indian Premier League (IPL), he played some outrageous knocks for his franchises. Those innings left all Cricket fans crazy as they have always shown so much affection for this former Protea batter.
Speaking about this former star South Africa batter, he played for Delhi and Bangalore franchises in the Indian Premier League. He represented the Delhi franchise from 2008 to 2010. While he played for the Bangalore franchise from 2011 to 2021.
On 19 November 2021, AB de Villiers announced his retirement from all formats of Cricket and bid goodbye. His innovative 360-degree shots earned him the nickname ‘Mr.360’ as he always entertained his fans through his spirit of the game.
Here are the top five knocks played by AB de Villiers in the Indian Premier League:
5. 105* (54) against Chennai, 2009
It was AB de Villiers’ first ton in the IPL as he scored 105* runs off 54 balls against the Chennai franchise. He hit five fours and six over-boundaries, at a strike rate of 194.44. His innings helped Delhi to score 189 runs for five wickets. In reply, Chennai managed only 180 runs for nine wickets in 20 overs. Thus, Delhi won the match by nine runs.
4. 89* (41) against Hyderabad, 2014
In this clash, Hyderabad batted first and scored 155 runs for six wickets. In reply, Bangalore were struggling at 59 runs by losing four wickets. But AB de Villiers scored 89* runs off 41 balls to chase down the target in 19.5 overs. He hit six fours and eight sixes in that innings, at a strike rate of 217.07.
3. 79* (47) against Gujarat, 2016
It was the first qualifier of the 2016 edition of the Indian Premier League. Gujarat batted first and got bundled out for 158 runs. While chasing, Bangalore were in trouble when they lost the fifth wicket on 29 runs. Then, de Villiers managed to score 79* runs off 47 balls including five fours and five sixes to chase down the target in 18.2 overs.
2. 129* (52) against Gujarat, 2016
In this clash, AB de Villiers scored 129* runs off 52 balls, at a strike rate of 248.07. He hit 10 fours and 12 sixes throughout that inning. While batting first, Bangalore scored 248 runs for three wickets. In reply, Gujarat got bundled out for 104 runs and Bangalore won the match by 144 runs.
1. 133* (59) against Mumbai, 2015
In this match, Bangalore batted first and scored 235 runs for one wicket. AB de Villiers scored 133* runs off 59 balls, at a staggering strike rate of 225.42. He hit 19 fours and four sixes throughout that inning. In reply, Mumbai scored 196 runs for seven wickets in 20 overs. Thus, Bangalore won the match by 39 runs.
