Fiery fifty and brilliant fielding: AB de Villiers turns back the clock as South Africa beat India in WCL; watch videos

The now-retired AB de Villiers was in inspired form as he led the South Africa Champions to a massive 88-run (DLS) win over the India Champions in the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025 at Northampton on Tuesday. The 41-year-old cricketing legend turned back the clock at The County Ground with exactly the type of innings the Indian fans wanted to see from one of their favourite overseas stars.

De Villiers smashed three fours and four sixes as he scored 63 off just 30 balls at a strike rate of 210 to help South Africa post a daunting target of 209. De Villiers’s glittering knock was marked by sublime sweep shots, classy cover drives, and power pull shots, as fans relived memories of his prime.

The video of ABD’s knock, which was posted by FanCode on X is going viral. “Stop the scroll, AB de Villiers just turned back time. The 🐐 just showed that he’s still got it, smacking 63* off just 30 balls,” the caption of the video read.

De Villiers’ brilliance wasn’t just limited to the batting. Always a gun fielder during his playing career, the South African helped his team also pull off a stunning catch of Yusuf Pathan to break India’s back.

With the team reeling on 44/4, India needed Yusuf Pathan to stitch a solid partnership with Stuart Binny, who scored 37 not out off 39. And it could have been possible if not for a brilliant fielding effort from De Villiers.

In the eighth over, Pathan smashed an Imran Tahir delivery to the wide of long-off, hoping for a boundary, but De Villiers was quick to reach the ball as he put in a slide, grabbed it and tossed it back to teammate Sarel Erwee before making contact with the boundary ropes. Erwee completed the catch and Pathan was given his marching orders.

It’s no surprise that De Villiers was named the Player of the match as India were restricted to 111/9 in 18.2 overs after captain Yuvraj Singh decided against batting due to a niggle.