As the GOAT - AB de Villiers - of cricket celebrates his 37th birthday, a look at his records in IPL.
Nicknamed 'Mr. 360' - cause what can he not do - Abraham Benjamin de Villiers has been the backbone for any team that he plays.
Widely known as AB de Villiers, he is considered among the finest batsmen in the world of cricket has ever witnessed.
Since making his debut in 2004 in the international circuit at the age of 20, the South African batsman's supreme skill of hitting the ball in every corner of the ground got him fame and recognition as the dependable one.
Happy Birthday AB
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) February 17, 2021
A leader, mentor and most importantly a true entertainer on and off the field. Wishing you a very very Happy Birthday AB. @ABdeVilliers17#PlayBold #HappyBirthdayAB #WeAreChallengers pic.twitter.com/ob07vEzgFU
He became part of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), where along with skipper Virat Kohli stitched many beautiful partnerships.
While RCB has always been dependent on the Proteas' skills to save them in difficult situations, he has most of the times not disappointed them. So as the GOAT of cricket celebrates his 37th birthday, a look at his records in IPL.
1. IPL 2020: AB de Villiers surpasses Chris Gayle's record
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AB de Villiers, who smashed 73 from 33 balls, in IPL 2020 against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), helped RCB win by a massive 82 runs.
He had received the Man of the Match award but had also added another feather to his cap by winning the prestigious award for the 22nd time in the history of the tournament - the most by any player.
He had broken the record of KXIP opener Chris Gayle as the swashbuckling Jamaican has 21 such awards. He was followed by MI's Rohit Sharma and SRH's David Warner.
MS Dhoni is also on the list with 17 awards to his name, followed by Shane Watson.
2. Two highest partnerships for any wicket
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AB De Villiers and Virat Kohli have been involved in the two highest run-yielding partnerships in IPL history. The biggest one was against the Gujarat Lions in IPL 2016 when the duo put on a 229-run stand.
De Villiers had struck 12 sixes and 10 fours on the way to his 129 run off 52 balls, at a strike-rate of 248.07. Kohli had scored 109 off 55 balls and was dismissed when the team's score was 248/1. Gujarat came nowhere near the target of 249 and were bundled out for 104, breaking the record for the highest margin of victory.
The second one was against Mumbai Indians in IPL 2015 where ABD scored 133 off 59 balls while Kohli scored 82 off 50 balls. The unbeaten partnership of 215 runs helped RCB post a gigantic total of 235 on the board. Mumbai did give a tough fight but fell 39 runs short.
3. Highest partnership for 2nd wicket as well as 4th wicket
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Another one with partnership involved, AB De Villiers is the only player to be part of the highest 4th wicket partnership, which he shared with Yuvraj Singh against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2014.
After losing skipper Virat Kohli, the team's score was 40. It was then that the two experienced batsmen built a solid partnership as De Villiers scored 58 off 32 balls while Yuvi smashed a 38-ball 83.
Yuvraj starred with the ball as well and picked up 4 wickets in his 4 overs, however, RCB suffered a shock loss as Steve Smith and James Faulkner smashed 65 runs off the last 23 balls to win the game with a ball to spare.
4. Most appearances for an overseas player
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AB De Villiers is the overseas player to have made the most appearances in the history of the IPL. De Villiers has made more than 150+ appearances and beats Kieron Pollard, who is in second place with 130+ appearances.
5. Most catches in a single season (non-wicketkeeper)
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AB De Villiers has taken some of the most stunning catches in IPL history and in the 2016 season, he beat David Miller's record of most catches in an IPL season (14).
He took a whopping 19 catches in 16 games and was rightfully awarded the Best Fielder for his exploits.
He had scored 687 runs in 16 matches averaging a brilliant 52.84 at a strike-rate of 168.79. He also hit 37 sixes and was one six short of beating Kohli (38) to the Maximum Sixes award.
