THE brilliance of AB de Villiers shone through the irrelevance of the fifth one-day international between Pakistan and South Africa in Sharjah last night.
South Africa sealed the series by winning in Abu Dhabi on Friday, but De Villiers batted like his life was on the line for an undefeated 115.
That lifted South Africa to a total of 268 for seven. Then they dismissed Pakistan for 151 to win by 117 runs and to complete a 4-1 series rout.
De Villiers’ superb innings put him level with Sourav Ganguly as the second-fastest batsman to reach 6000 runs in ODIs.
Like Ganguly, De Villiers passed the milestone in 147 innings. The only player ahead of them, Viv Richards, got there in 141.
De Villiers slashed the sixth ball he faced, bowled by Mohammad Irfan, through third man for his first boundary.
But he then showed admirable patience, which was vital given that the pitch and the outfield were the slowest of the series. After that first four, De Villiers did not find the ropes again for 64 deliveries, in which he moved to 45 not out. Then he broke the drought in style with a pulled six off Saeed Ajmal.
Having taken 70 balls to reach 50, De Villiers needed just 29 more to complete his 15th century. Only 20 of the 64 runs he scored after celebrating his half-century were not boundaries.
With De Villiers driving South Africa’s momentum like he stole it, South Africa realised 114 runs in the last 10 overs of their innings – the same number they scored in the first 30 overs.
South Africa needed a mature response to losing Hashim Amla to the fifth ball of the match. It was delivered by Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis, whose second-wicket stand of 50 was worth twice as much considering the conditions.
Then De Villiers joined Du Plessis to add another 62 for the fourth wicket. Again, discipline and application were the watchwords.
Only after Ajmal took a return catch to remove David Miller in the 39th over and Ryan McLaren arrived did De Villiers use his licence to thrill.
McLaren hit Irfan for consecutive fours and smashed a hat-trick of boundaries off three of Junaid Khan’s deliveries in a sixth-wicket stand of 83 that cannoned off 56 balls. But the last over of the innings proved to be the biggest.
Wayne Parnell drove Sohail Tanvir’s first ball silkily for four, and took three off the next with a less elegant looping stroke past point.
De Villiers needed a mad dive to make his ground. He dusted himself off to smash a four through midwicket, a six over the same boundary, a four through extra cover and another four through the covers to take the tally for the over to 25 runs.
Sohaib Maqsood’s polished 53 and Umar Akmal’s defiant 30 apart, Pakistan batted like they would rather be in a queue somewhere.
Parnell took three for 36 in the throes of Pakistan sacrificing their last five wickets for 23 runs.
Brilliant AB uses licence to thrill in hot Sharjah
South Africa sealed the series by winning in Abu Dhabi on Friday, but De Villiers batted like his life was on the line for an undefeated 115.
That lifted South Africa to a total of 268 for seven. Then they dismissed Pakistan for 151 to win by 117 runs and to complete a 4-1 series rout.
De Villiers’ superb innings put him level with Sourav Ganguly as the second-fastest batsman to reach 6000 runs in ODIs.
Like Ganguly, De Villiers passed the milestone in 147 innings. The only player ahead of them, Viv Richards, got there in 141.
De Villiers slashed the sixth ball he faced, bowled by Mohammad Irfan, through third man for his first boundary.
But he then showed admirable patience, which was vital given that the pitch and the outfield were the slowest of the series. After that first four, De Villiers did not find the ropes again for 64 deliveries, in which he moved to 45 not out. Then he broke the drought in style with a pulled six off Saeed Ajmal.
Having taken 70 balls to reach 50, De Villiers needed just 29 more to complete his 15th century. Only 20 of the 64 runs he scored after celebrating his half-century were not boundaries.
With De Villiers driving South Africa’s momentum like he stole it, South Africa realised 114 runs in the last 10 overs of their innings – the same number they scored in the first 30 overs.
South Africa needed a mature response to losing Hashim Amla to the fifth ball of the match. It was delivered by Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis, whose second-wicket stand of 50 was worth twice as much considering the conditions.
Then De Villiers joined Du Plessis to add another 62 for the fourth wicket. Again, discipline and application were the watchwords.
Only after Ajmal took a return catch to remove David Miller in the 39th over and Ryan McLaren arrived did De Villiers use his licence to thrill.
McLaren hit Irfan for consecutive fours and smashed a hat-trick of boundaries off three of Junaid Khan’s deliveries in a sixth-wicket stand of 83 that cannoned off 56 balls. But the last over of the innings proved to be the biggest.
Wayne Parnell drove Sohail Tanvir’s first ball silkily for four, and took three off the next with a less elegant looping stroke past point.
De Villiers needed a mad dive to make his ground. He dusted himself off to smash a four through midwicket, a six over the same boundary, a four through extra cover and another four through the covers to take the tally for the over to 25 runs.
Sohaib Maqsood’s polished 53 and Umar Akmal’s defiant 30 apart, Pakistan batted like they would rather be in a queue somewhere.
Parnell took three for 36 in the throes of Pakistan sacrificing their last five wickets for 23 runs.
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