AB de Villiers retires: Top 5 de Villiers knocks in Test cricket

#2 174 vs England, Headingley (2008)

Ab de Villiers countered the English conditions well

It had been only three months since he had scored his maiden double century against India in tough conditions in Ahmedabad. He started the series in England with a fluent 42 but failed to kick on after getting set.

In the second Test, the South African bowlers did a wonderful job as they bowled England out for just 203. However, they lost wickets at regular intervals and were 143/4 when AB de Villiers joined Ashwell Prince in the middle. South Africa needed a partnership at that stage and with Prince batting well de Villiers complemented him beautifully. Sharing a 212-run stand with Prince for the 5th wicket, de Villiers helped South Africa take full control of the game.

But after the dismissal of Prince, who scored a superb 149, de Villiers who batted at No. 6 went on and scored a fantastic 174 (his 6th Test ton) as South Africa posted 522. De Villiers was superb as he batted 281 deliveries and was at the crease for 517 minutes.

South Africa then bowled England out for 327 and chased down 9 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series.