Scoring a century in ODI cricket is a tough job. Though cricketers make it look an easy task, the format presents several obstacles to the batsmen in the game. The last few decades have witnessed the apparent supremacy of South African players in international cricket. They have made several records when it comes to batting on foreign grounds. The team has some world-class batsmen who continue to dominate the game in the present scenario. Let us recall some iconic moments in cricket's history when the South African batsmen caught everyone’s attention with their incredible performances in the ODI.
1. AB De Villiers
Abraham Benjamin de Villers is a former right-hand batsman. He made his ODI debut in February 2005 against England and scored 20 runs in the match. Popularly known as Mr. 360, the batsman has the title of fastest century in this format. On the grounds of Johannesburg, he smashed 149 runs in 39 balls against the West Indies. He hit sixteen sixes and nine fours on 18 January 2015.
2. MV Boucher
Mark Verdon Boucher is a former wicket-keeper right-hand batsman whose international career lasted almost 15 years. On 20 September 2006, in Potchefstroom, he made an undefeated score of 147 in 44 balls. Playing against Zimbabwe, the batsman smashed ten sixes and eight fours. He holds the record of the second-fastest ODI century ever.
3. AB De Villiers
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers is undoubtedly one of the greatest players of South Africa Africa and has resultantly made another feature in our list. De Villiers has captained the team in all three formats. The batsman made his ODI debut in February 2005 against England. He is third in rank of the South African players who have the record fastest ODI century. On the grounds of Sydney, in 2015, he made an undefeated score of 162 runs in 51 balls. Batting against West Indies, the batsman hit eight sixes and seventeen fours.
4. AB De Villiers
AB de Villiers appears in the list more often than any other South African batsman and is the highest-rated South African batsman on the ICC rankings. On the grounds of Bloemfontein, he scored 20 runs in his first game. On 25 October 2015, he scored 119 runs in 57 balls. Playing against the Indian team, he smashed eleven sixes and three fours in the match. The venue for the game was Mumbai. South Africa went to defeat India by scoring 438 runs in 50 overs.
5. AB De Villiers
Abraham Benjamin de Villiers made his ODI debut in 2005 against England, scoring 20 runs in the match. De Villiers played his fourth-best ODI century on 27 February 2010. Batting against India, he scored a total of 102 runs in 58 balls. On the grounds of Ahmedabad, the batsman hit three sixes and eleven fours. The century from the hitter contributed to South Africa's 90-run win over India.
6. AB De Villiers
Abraham Benjamin de Villers is one of the greatest players that cricket has ever seen. On 12 July 2007, the batter hit 108 runs in 66 balls. This was his sixth-best ODI century. The match was played in Hambantota on 12 July 2014, in which he smashed four sixes and eleven fours against Sri Lanka. South Africa won the game by 82 runs.
7. AB De Villiers
On 18 October 2017, AB de Villiers went on to score his 25th ODI century against Bangladesh. Batting on the grounds of Paarl, the batsman made his career-best sixth-fastest ODI century. He hit 176 runs in 68 balls and smashed seven sixes and fifteen fours. The team scored a massive total of 353 runs and defeated Bangladesh.
8. DA Miller
DA Miller is a left-handed batsman in the national South African cricket team and is famous for his power-hitting. He made his ODI debut against the West Indies on 22 May 2010. On 5 October 2016, Miller made an undefeated score of 118 runs in 69 balls. He hit six sixes and ten fours. His stunning century against Australia is undoubtedly one of his best knocks. South Africa went to chase down the massive target of 372 against Australia.
9. AB De Villiers
AB de Villiers made his seventh fastest century in ODI cricket against Zimbabwe. On the grounds of Potchefstroom, he hit an undefeated score of 101 runs in 72 balls. The batsman had smashed five sixes and an equal number of fours in the match. South Africa defeated Zimbabwe by 64 runs.
10. AB De Villiers
The last and the first player in the list of the fastest ODI century is unambiguously AB de Villiers. He made his eighth fastest ODI century on 11 October 2015. The venue for the match was Kanpur. Batting against India, he went on to score 104 runs in 73 balls. He smashed six sixes and five fours. The team won the match by five runs.
