AB De Villiers races to fastest ever ODI century

South Africa batsman AB de Villiers Sunday cracked the fastest century in One-Day International (ODI) history, reaching three figures in just 31 deliveries against the West Indies at the New Wanderers Stadium here. The previous One-Day International record was held by New Zealander Corey Anderson, who took 36 balls to reach his ton playing against the same opponents a year ago. However, Chris Gayle’s 100 from 30 balls in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in April 2013 is the fastest century in cricket history. De Villiers, who ended up scoring a 44-ball 149, hammered 16 sixes that also helped him share the record of scoring maximum sixes in an ODI innings with Indian Rohit Sharma. Openers Hashim Amla (not out 153) and Rilee Rossouw (128) provided the platform for the 30-year-old De Villiers to explode as the trio guided them to their highest total in an ODI of 439 for two – bettering the total of 438/9 against Australia.