AB-solutely de Villiers

AB de Villiers hit the fastest century in one-day international history as South Africa overwhelmed the West Indies in the second one-day international at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Sunday.

De Villiers raced to his century off 31 balls - five balls fewer than the previous record - on the way to an astonishing 149 off 44 balls.

With opening batsmen Hashim Amla and Rilee Rossouw also hitting centuries in a South African record first wicket stand, South Africa piled up a massive 439 for two.

The West Indies were never likely to chase down a world record target but managed a respectable 291 for seven to give South Africa a 148-run win and a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

De Villiers gave credit to Amla and Rossouw for building a foundation. He said he had planned to send in David Miller for the closing overs but was persuaded by coach Russell Domingo to go in himself.

"There was always going to be a lot of aggressive batting around Hash at the end," said De Villiers.

"It just came off for me. I did a lot of walks up and down in the change room thinking about how I should be playing.

"I got fired up in the change room, I sort of played my knock before I came out to bat. Aggression was probably the main thing for me, I just wanted to go from the word go."

Amla (153 not out) and Rossouw (128) put on 247 for the first wicket - a record partnership for any wicket for South Africa.

Rossouw was dismissed off the third ball of the 39th over. De Villiers promoted himself to number three and struck the ball out of the middle of his bat from the first delivery he faced, which he thrashed for four past bowler Jerome Taylor.

He went to fifty off 16 balls, one fewer than Sanath Jayasuriya's previous record for the fastest half-century, for Sri Lanka against Pakistan in 1995/96, then powered his way past Corey Anderson's record for the fastest century.

He took five balls fewer than Anderson's hundred for New Zealand against the West Indies in 2013/14.

The South African captain's innings included 16 sixes, equalling the world record set by Rohit Sharma when he hit 209 for India against Australia in Bangalore in 2013/14.

He also hit nine fours in an innings which had a near-capacity crowd at the Wanderers 'bullring' roaring in approval.

South Africa went past their own previous highest total - the 438 for nine they scored in a record run chase against Australia on the same ground in 2005/06.

SCORES IN BRIEF

SOUTH AFRICA: 439 for 2 in 50 overs (Amla 153 not out, Rossouw 128, De Villiers 149; Taylor 1-95, Russell 1-78)

WEST INDIES: 291 for 7 in 50 overs (D Smith 64, Ramdin 57, Samuels 40, Carter 40; Morkel 2-43, Philander 2-69)

Result: South Africa won by 148 runs.

Player-of-the-match: AB de Villiers.

WHAT they say

"Not the worst entertainment from AB right now. Best in the world without a doubt."
Brendan Taylor
Zimbabwe batsman

"Have to say @ABdeVilliers17 is the definition of a Cricketing Genius ... absolutely incredible... #31BallTon"
 Michael Vaughan
Former England captain

"Happy new year @ABdeVilliers17 well played mate"
Shahid Afridi
Pakistan all-rounder

"AB de Villiers has scored 149 runs from 44 balls. That is as preposterous as his name. Remarkable performance!"
Gary Lineker
Former England footballer

"I demand a DNA test of AB DeVilliers...this game is only for humans. #superhuman #WhatAPlayer"
Aakash Chopra
Former India batsman

"If ab faced as many balls as Amla he'd be on 450ish"
Ben Laughlin
Australia fast bowler

"@ABdeVilliers17 thanks you for raising so much awareness on #PinkDay18Jan with the greatest innings ever played in a one day game ! Hats off"
Yuvraj Singh
India all-rounder

"@ABdeVilliers17 this guy is a freak. Unbelievable"
Kyle Jarvis
Zimbabwe fast bowler

"World record fastest ODI century - Congrats @ABdeVilliers17!"
Shaun Pollock
Former South Africa captain