AB de Villiers returned from his sabbatical with a blistering 176 off 104 balls to take South Africa surging to 353-6 in the second one-day international against Bangladesh on Wednesday.
De Villiers hit his career-best score in 50 overs format in his first international innings in four months and was part of century stands with Hashim Amla (85) and JP Duminy (30).
De Villiers was the driving force of both those stands, making 86 of the 136 runs he put on with Amla and 90 of the 117 he put on with Duminy.
104 balls.
15 fours.
7 sixes.
176 runs.Take a bow @ABdeVilliers17! 🙌 #SAvBAN pic.twitter.com/N7C9Vi891A
— ICC (@ICC) October 18, 2017
De Villiers’ last international match was at the Champions Trophy in June. He skipped the test series against England and Bangladesh to rest and spend time with his family.
However, cricketers and fans were left awestruck after watching the classy batting of the living legend against Bangladesh and couldn’t stop themselves from showering praises on him.
Here’s how cricket fraternity reacted after the masterclass from AB De Villiers:
Freak @ABdeVilliers17 …. #Fact
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) October 18, 2017
176 off 104 balls for @ABdeVilliers17 on his come back only him…#licks #indabush 👏🏿👍🏾🏏
— Alex Tudor (@alextudorcoach) October 18, 2017
This is insane batting from @ABdeVilliers17 👌
Now 162 off 97 balls with 4 overs to go😬#CorridorOfCarnage— Damien Fleming (@bowlologist) October 18, 2017
This fella is just something else!#SAvsBAN #AB #freak
— Mpumelelo Mbangwa (@mmbangwa) October 18, 2017
@ABdeVilliers17 could get a double ton here
— Robin John Peterson (@robbie13flair) October 18, 2017
A B Can Do Everthing is at it again….
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 18, 2017
Wow ! what smashing by AB De villiers. Should become the first middle -order batsman to score an ODI-double#SAvBAN
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) October 18, 2017
Sorry @ABdeVilliers17 , nazar lag gayi . But always a delight to watch you smash bowlers. Incredible hitting ! https://t.co/sV0FaCw1oD
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) October 18, 2017
Proud to be a South African with this guy around!!!! 👏🏻🏏🇿🇦 @OfficialCSA #Worldclass https://t.co/e847W7KS5g
— Marizanne Kapp (@kappie777) October 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/danevn81/status/920606459506733056
