100 Tests for AB de Villiers: 10 of his best

On the occasion of AB de Villiers' 100th Test match, a look back at his top ten innings in the format.
92 & 109 v England, Centurion, 2005
In his fifth Test, de Villiers, at the time opening the batting, scored his first century. The venue was the fifth match of the 2004-05 home series against England, which ended in South Africa's first home series loss to them in 40 years.After missing three figures in the three innings by eight runs, having top-scored with the only score in excess of 33 out of a total of 247, de Villiers made 109 in the second, off 169 balls and with 11 fours and a six. Had rain not washed out the first day's play at SuperSport park, his twin effort may have secured victory.
217* v India, Ahmedabad, 2008
The second Test of the three-match series in India was over inside three days in Ahmedabad, where the head curator's red-soiled surface assisted South Africa's quicks. India never stood a chance after being rolled over for 76 on the opening morning; de Villiers' stunning 217* hastened a crushing innings defeat. In doing so, de Villiers became the first South African to make a double-century against India, putting on a record 256 with Jacques Kallis to bat India out of the Test. The shot that stood out from de Villiers' innings was the six he hit off Harbhajan Singh that landed on the roof of the stadium, the batsman falling to the ground as he completed the shot.
(AFP Photo)
174 v England, Headingley, 2008
Crucial to South Africa taking the series lead in 2008 was de Villiers' 174 out of a total of 522, his superb effort combining with an Ashwell Prince special (149) to shut England out of the match. Shunning his cavalier ways for a lesson on stubbornness, de Villiers denying England's bowlers for more than seven hours in that partnership with Prince that changed the tone of the series. He took several body blows from Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff but came out on top, scoring a match-winning hundred.
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106* v Australia, Perth, 2008
Arguably de Villiers' best Test century. Set a mammoth 414 by Australia at the WACA, South Africa made history by chasing it with six wickets in hand. Graeme Smith (108) and Hashim Amla (53) fell in the space of seven runs, at which time South Africa were 179/3 with 235 runs still to get. Enter de Villiers, who with Kallis (57) and JP Duminy (50*) achieved the hitherto unthinkable. It was his seventh Test ton, and to date the only one in the fourth innings, and helped South Africa stun the hosts. Ultimately, it played a big role in putting Smith's team on course for a 2-1 series win that need Australia's 16-year winning streak at home.
163 v Australia, Cape Town, 2009
The third century of South Africa's first innings of 651 proved the most brutal, with de Villiers hitting 12 fours and seven sixes during his 196-ball 163. A platform had been set for him when he walked out to bat with the total 322/3, and true to form de Villiers delivered a big innings that shoved Australia aside and set up an innings win in the third Test of the series.
278* v Pakistan, Abu Dhabi, 2010
A flat surface, yes, but a landmark innings nevertheless. In November 2010 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, de Villiers achieved South Africa's highest individual Test score - 278 not out off 418 balls from 601 minutes. That monumental effort formed the crux of a first-innings total of 584, with only Kallis (105) crossing 50. The Test was drawn, but de Villiers had left his mark once again.
(AFP Photo)
33 v Australia, Adelaide, 2012
Blink. Read it again. Yes, 33. In a list of best innings that features stroke-filled hundreds. This was the antithesis of de Villiers. He made 33 off 230 balls, but what an innings it was in the context of the match. Set 430 to win, South Africa were 77/4 when the final day began. At the end of it, they were 248/8, having secured an incredible draw. The hero of that final day was Faf du Plessis, batting on 100 from 376 balls in 466 minutes on debut. But without de Villiers' obdurate, stroke-less 33 the draw would not have been possible. His stand of 89 with de Plessis was instrumental in South Africa averting defeat, and staying alive in the three-match series. That innings, scored at a strike-rate of 15, was as important as a de Villiers hundred.
(Getty Images)
169 v Australia, Perth, 2012
A low-scoring match turned on its head when South Africa batted a second time. Smith's 84 helped set tone, Amla soared with 196 from 221 balls, but it was de Villiers, with 169 from 184 balls, that made merry with a hundred that harked back to more destructive times. That sumptuous innings helped South Africa post 569, setting Australia a target of 632 to win the Test and with it the series. They failed, and Smith's team won their second series on Australian soil.
116 v Australia, Port Elizabeth, 2014
This innings showed the other side of de Villiers - the batsman capable of buckling down to produce gritty, backs-to-the-wall stuff. Against an Australian side fresh off a 5-0 whitewash of Australia and which had taken the first Test at Centurion on the back of Mitchell Johnson's 12 wickets, de Villiers dug deep for a 232-ball 116 that helped the home team recover from 200/5 to 423 in the first innings. That hundred contributed to a 231-run win that levelled the series.
148 v West Indies, Cape Town, 2015
Making West Indies suffer once again was de Villiers, scoring 148 out of a South African first innings of 421. The tourists had chipped away with wickets at irregular intervals to have South Africa 157/3 and trailing by 172, when up stepped de Villiers. His 148 spanned 194 balls, featured 15 fours and a six, and was the only century of the innings. It resulted in an eight-wicket win that clinched the series 2-0.