Image Credit- NDTV Sports.
Venue- Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai [October 25, 2015].
In the autumn of 2015, South African Cricket Team toured India to play 3 T20s, 5 ODIs and 4 Test Matches. The Proteas won the T20 Series 2-0, whereas the ODI Series was tied at 2-2 after 4 ODIs. As a result, the final one day at Mumbai was a do or die game for both the sides. In a must win game South African Captain AB de Villiers won the toss and decided to bat first.
On a batting friendly wicket South Africa started off pretty well but lost their first wicket in the 4th over itself. Hashim Amla was dismissed for 23 by Mohit Sharma as the Proteas scorecard read 33/1. However, post this De Kock and Faf du Plessis stitched a brilliant partnership as the duo added more than 150 runs to the South African Total. Eventually De Kock was dismissed for 109 in the 27th over as the Proteas scorecard read 187/2.
This is when the South African Captain AB de Villiers came out to bat. And Boy! What happened next was something truly unbelievable. ABD played one of the magnificent knocks of his cricketing career as he scored a quickfire 119 of 61 deliveries. Be it spinner or fast bowler, everyone faced the same fate in the hands of AB de Villiers. His innings comprised of 3 boundaries and 11 huge sixes. Literally there was no part of the ground wherein he did not score any boundary. Furthermore, it was such a knock that even the Mumbai crowd was singing in the praise of Proteas Captain.
Riding upon the 100s of de Kock, Faf and ABD, Proteas ended up scoring 438 in this must win game. The Indians now needed 439 runs to win the game and series. It was never going to be an easy chase and the South African bowling line-up made it impossible for the Indians. The Hosts were bowled out for just 224 as the Proteas won the game by 214 runs. The Indian Batting Order literally succumbed before the bowling attack of Steyn and Rabada. De Kock was awarded the man of the match award, whereas ABD was awarded the man of the series award. Furthermore, AB de Villiers became the first Proteas Captain to win an ODI Series in India.
Hence it can be said that it was truly an amazing series as we witnessed a magnificent performance by one of the greatest cricketers.
To watch the magnificent knock of AB de Villiers, Click Here.
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