AB de Villiers. (Photo Source: Twitter)
There have been many batting performances over the years of the sport that have left the spectators stunned. However, very few compare to that of former South African cricketer AB de Villiers, who scored 162* runs in 66 balls against the West Indies in the ODI World Cup 2015.
The captain at the time, de Villiers smashed 17 boundaries and eight sixes in his whirlwind knock. His sensational innings helped the Proteas notch up 408 runs on the board in the first innings. However, de Villiers recently came forward to reveal that he was actually sick before the game.
Sitting down for an interview, the 39-year-old revealed that he was ill the morning before the game and did not even warm up ahead of the clash against the West Indies. He also revealed that he was sleeping before coming out to bat, as he was unable to sleep the night before, due to the medications.
“I’ll give you one more example of that. Sydney Cricket Ground, 2015. We played a World Cup game against the West Indies. And I was very nervous, very fired up. It’s a must win for us. But 3:00 that morning, I got really sick in my room, and I got injections and all sorts of stuff. I didn’t sleep. I arrived at the Sydney Cricket Ground and I told the coach, listen, I don’t think I can warm up, I’m just going to take a nap,” AB de Villiers said on JioCinema’s ‘Home of Heroes’.
I honestly felt like I couldn’t play: de Villiers
Furthermore, de Villiers also reflected on how he was feeling before coming out to bat and how everything seemed to be in slow motion. The former South African batter stated that he was half asleep and was seeing the ball bigger that day than usual, which made it quite easy for him.
“I remember standing there facing my first ball and I was like, I don’t care if I get out there, I’m just going to see the ball and just like move slowly. Be in my mode, you know? And it was incredible how in such slow motion everything happened that day. Seeing the ball bigger, I was half asleep. Looking at the sun just standing there going like, oh, this game is actually so enjoyable, so easy, so slow and it’s so difficult to get into that zone. In that zone, it’s so enjoyable,” De Villiers said.