Top 10 AB de Villiers Best T20 Innings Ever

AB de Villiers’ 10 Greatest T20 Knocks

10. 79* off 34 vs Scotland — T20 World Cup 2009, The Oval

South Africa were batting against Scotland in the group stage of the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 at The Oval. Scotland bowled first and had little to trouble the Proteas’ batting order, but the innings still needed a finisher to push the total toward something substantial.De Villiers scored 79* from just 34 balls and was named Player of the Match as South Africa posted 211/5. He hit 5 fours and 6 sixes at a strike rate of 232.35. Scotland were dismissed for 81 as South Africa won by 130 runs.This remains his highest T20I score. It sits tenth because Scotland were not a strong opponent and the match carried limited knockout significance. But the strike rate and the attacking intent were entirely typical of de Villiers at his best.

Why it ranks here: His career-best T20I score with the bat, but the opposition strength and comfortable group-stage setting prevent it from ranking higher.

9. 71 off 29 vs England — 2nd T20I, Johannesburg, 21 February 2016

South Africa were chasing 172 against England at the Wanderers in Johannesburg in the second T20I. England had posted a competitive total, but South Africa turned the chase into a demolition.De Villiers scored 71 from 29 balls, reaching his fifty from 21 deliveries. He hit 6 fours and 6 sixes at a strike rate of 244.83. South Africa completed the chase in 14.4 overs and won by 9 wickets with 5.2 overs remaining.The innings was fast, clinical and almost effortless-looking. It places ninth rather than higher because South Africa had wickets in hand throughout and the chase never became a crisis that required de Villiers to rescue anything. It was dominance, not rescue.

Why it ranks here: One of his fastest T20I innings and a nine-wicket win, but the lack of pressure on the team limits the impact score.

8. 73* off 33 vs Kolkata Knight Riders — IPL 2020, Sharjah, 12 October 2020

This match was played in Sharjah during IPL 2020. Sharjah had produced several high-scoring games that season, but timing and placement still mattered because the surface was not always as easy as the small boundaries suggested.De Villiers scored 73* from 33 balls, hitting 5 fours and 6 sixes at a strike rate of 221.21. RCB posted 194/2 and won by 82 runs.The innings was composed, explosive in the right phases and effective without needing to be a rescue job. RCB were 94/2 after 12.2 overs when de Villiers and Virat Kohli accelerated, with de Villiers providing the main finishing thrust.It ranks eighth because RCB had already built a platform and the match was ultimately won comfortably. The quality was obvious; the pressure level was lower than the innings above it.

Why it ranks here: A high-quality innings in Sharjah against KKR, but the comfortable match result keeps it near the foot of the list.

7. 105* off 54 vs Chennai Super Kings — IPL 2009, Durban, 23 April 2009

This innings is often forgotten in conversations about his greatest T20 knocks, partly because it was played in South Africa and partly because it came early in the IPL. But it deserves its place.

De Villiers scored 105* from 54 balls for Delhi Daredevils — not RCB — against Chennai Super Kings. He hit 5 fours and 6 sixes at a strike rate of 194.44. Delhi posted 189/5 and won by 9 runs in a genuinely tight finish.This was his first IPL century and he played it for Delhi Daredevils at a time when T20 batting techniques were less evolved. A century against CSK in 2009 was a genuine achievement against a well-organised side.

Why it ranks here: His first IPL hundred, in a match Delhi won by just 9 runs. The tight margin and quality of opposition earn it seventh place.

6. 90* off 39 vs Delhi Daredevils — IPL 2018, Bengaluru, 21 April 2018

RCB were chasing 175 at home in IPL 2018 against Delhi Daredevils. It was a decent target at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where fast chases are possible but still require a proper innings from someone.De Villiers did exactly that. He scored 90* from 39 balls, hitting 10 fours and 5 sixes at a strike rate of 230.77. RCB completed the chase in 18 overs and won by 6 wickets. The 10 fours in that innings are worth noting — he was not just muscling sixes, he was piercing the field with precision.This innings was powerful and controlled in equal measure. It ranks sixth because the match situation was not desperate — RCB were chasing a manageable target and the game was not under serious threat once de Villiers settled.

Why it ranks here: High strike rate, 10 fours and a six-wicket win, but the absence of knockout pressure keeps it outside the top five.

5. 89* off 41 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad — IPL 2014, Bengaluru, 4 May 2014

This one had genuine jeopardy. RCB were chasing 156, lost Parthiv Patel and Virat Kohli in the second over, and later lost Chris Gayle after he had made 27. The pressure was real and building.De Villiers scored 89* from 41 balls — hitting 6 fours and 8 sixes — with Gayle’s 27 being the next-highest score. RCB needed 28 from the last two overs, with Dale Steyn bowling the 19th. De Villiers took 24 from that Steyn over, hitting three sixes and a four, and finished the chase with a ball remaining.The match-defining detail is how isolated he was — the next-highest score was 27 in a team total of 158/6. Without him, RCB do not win this game. The quality of the bowling attack he faced, particularly Steyn at his peak, makes this one of the most technically impressive innings in his T20 career.

Why it ranks here: Almost single-handed win against a top bowling attack including one of the world’s best fast bowlers at the time. Fifth place reflects both the pressure and the team dependency.

4. 69* off 28 vs England — ICC World Twenty20 2014, Chattogram, 29 March 2014

Context: South Africa needed a win to secure their semifinal place in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. There was tournament pressure attached to every run.De Villiers came in and scored 69* from 28 balls, striking 9 fours and 3 sixes at a strike rate of 246.43. South Africa posted 196/5. England replied with 193/7, so South Africa won by 3 runs and moved into the semifinals.The strike rate here — 246.43 — was the second-highest of any innings in this top ten, behind only his 129* against Gujarat Lions. He was hitting the ball incredibly hard and finding the gaps at will against an England attack that included Stuart Broad, Chris Jordan, Tim Bresnan, James Tredwell, Ravi Bopara, Jade Dernbach and Moeen Ali.A three-run result with semifinal qualification on the line gives this innings its ranking.

Why it ranks here: A brutal T20I innings in a match South Africa won by 3 runs with semifinal qualification on the line.

3. 129* off 52 vs Gujarat Lions — IPL 2016, Bengaluru, 14 May 2016

Ten days before the Qualifier 1, de Villiers played a completely different kind of innings against the same opponent. RCB were building, not rescuing. He and Virat Kohli put together a partnership that pushed the total to enormous heights.De Villiers reached his century from 43 balls, eventually finishing on 129* from 52 deliveries. RCB posted 248/3. He hit 10 fours and 12 sixes at a strike rate of 248.08, a scoring rate that belongs in the wider discussion around the highest strike rates in IPL history. Gujarat Lions, chasing 249, were bowled out for 104 as RCB won by 144 runs.This was an aesthetic masterclass. Kohli scored 109 in the same innings, and de Villiers still dominated large parts of the partnership. His 12 sixes in 52 balls on a good batting surface showed what peak-form de Villiers looked like in full flow.

Why it ranks here: One of the most spectacular T20 innings played by anyone, but it was a league match where RCB were in control throughout. That is the only reason it does not rank higher.

2. 133* off 59 vs Mumbai Indians — IPL 2015, Wankhede, 10 May 2015

This is his highest senior T20 score and one of the defining innings behind AB de Villiers’ place among the highest run-scorers in IPL history.There is a strong case for that view. But read it alongside the No. 1 entry and you’ll understand why the Qualifier 1 tops this ranking.De Villiers scored 133* from 59 balls at a strike rate of 225.42, hitting 19 fours and 4 sixes. He and Virat Kohli shared an unbeaten second-wicket partnership of 215, combining two batters central to RCB’s long run-scoring history and its list of RCB Orange Cap winners.  — at the time the highest partnership for any wicket in T20 cricket. RCB posted 235/1 and won by 39 runs.Kohli made 82* from 50 balls from the other end, but de Villiers was the dominant scorer in the partnership.This is arguably his most spectacular T20 innings. He was in a different gear from every other batter on the ground. But the match situation never demanded a rescue. RCB were solid throughout, and the partnership gave him the best possible support.

Why it ranks here: His highest senior T20 score and statistically his most complete innings, but the lack of crisis and strong support from Kohli stop it from ranking first under this criteria.

1. 79* off 47 vs Gujarat Lions — IPL 2016 Qualifier 1, Bengaluru, 24 May 2016

Here is the situation. RCB versus Gujarat Lions, a knockout match — the winner goes to the final. RCB were chasing 159.By the 5.3-over mark, RCB were 29/5. Virat Kohli had gone for a duck. The top order had collapsed entirely. Dhawal Kulkarni finished with 4/14. Ravindra Jadeja had already taken a wicket. The surface was slower than a normal Chinnaswamy pitch, gripping and turning.De Villiers came in during that collapse and held everything together. He did not go after the bowling from ball one. He assessed, took singles, rotated strike, and then accelerated when he had to. When Iqbal Abdulla joined him at 68/6 in the 10th over, RCB still needed 91 to win from 62 balls with only four wickets remaining.De Villiers scored 79* from 47 balls, hitting 5 fours and 5 sixes. The seventh-wicket partnership with Abdulla was worth 91 runs unbroken. RCB reached 159/6 in 18.2 overs and won by 4 wickets.This is the innings that ranks No. 1 because no other knock in his T20 career combined that level of match pressure, personal responsibility and a knockout result in the same performance. He had almost no support at the top, the pitch was working against batters, and RCB needed him to do it almost alone. He did.

Why it ranks here: Knockout match. Top order gone at 29/5. Unbeaten till the end. RCB in the final. No other innings checks all those boxes simultaneously.

The Ranking, Settled

Under this article’s impact-and-pressure methodology, the 79* against Gujarat Lions in the 2016 Qualifier 1 — 159 chased from 29/5 in a knockout match — is AB de Villiers’ No. 1 T20 innings. It is not his flashiest or his biggest score. But it is the performance that required the most from him and delivered the most for his team.His 133* against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede remains his highest senior T20 score, and if you value pure spectacle and scoreboard dominance above everything else, that innings has a fair claim to the top spot too.