AB de Villiers made 70 off 39 balls against West Indies Champions in the World Championship of Legends on 4 October, and South Africa Champions won the match by 97 runs. He was captaining the side he led to the title last year, and the 42-year-old hit four fours and five sixes in his first innings of the 2026 season.
Forty-six of his 70 runs came in boundaries. The strike rate was 179.49.
What Did AB de Villiers Score Against West Indies Champions?
De Villiers and Richard Levi made 157 runs between them off 78 balls, 64.9 percent of the South Africa Champions total of 242 for 5. Their second-wicket stand was worth 104 and ended at 135 for 2 in the 11th over.
Levi’s 87 off 39 was the biggest score of the match and won him the player-of-the-match award. Eight of his boundaries were sixes and five were fours, 68 of his 87 runs came in boundaries, and his strike rate was 223.08. Between them the two of them hit 13 of the 17 sixes in the innings.
The rest of the card was modest. Sarel Erwee made 23 off 13, Morne van Wyk finished 17 not out, Faf du Plessis made 14 and Colin Ingram 7, and those four were the only other South Africans to score. West Indies Champions conceded 24 in extras, 20 of them in wides.
“Class doesn’t retire. It just finds a new stage!” – 🎙️Jay
The 242 for 5 is the highest total South Africa Champions have made in this competition. Their previous best on the cards was 241 for 6 against Australia Champions on 27 July 2025.
Legends And Heroes On Both Team Sheets
This is the appeal of the World Championship of Legends, and it is why the tournament sits so comfortably in a legends and heroes section: the names on the card are the names South Africans grew up watching. De Villiers leads a 15-man squad that also carries Allan Donald, Imran Tahir, JP Duminy, Wayne Parnell and Du Plessis.
The full South Africa Champions squad for the 2026 edition:
- AB de Villiers (captain)
- Faf du Plessis
- JP Duminy
- Richard Levi
- Colin Ingram
- Sarel Erwee
- Morne van Wyk
- Wayne Parnell
- Imran Tahir
- Aaron Phangiso
- Allan Donald
- Marchant de Lange
- Hardus Viljoen
- Shaun von Berg
- Robbie Frylinck
The opposition carried the same kind of card. Chris Gayle captained West Indies Champions and Carlos Brathwaite batted at the back end of their innings, which is as close to a nostalgia double act as this format gets.
What Happened In The West Indies Champions Chase?
Needing 243, West Indies Champions were bowled out for 145 in 18.2 overs, a run rate of 7.91 against the 12.10 South Africa had managed.
Gayle made 60 off 31 with five sixes and four fours, 41 percent of his side’s entire total. Brathwaite hit 29 off 13 with three sixes, and Rayad Emrit made 14 off 12. No other West Indian reached double figures, and Jermaine Blackwood’s 9 was the next best.
Imran Tahir took 3 for 24 and Aaron Phangiso 3 for 49. Six of the ten wickets went to the two spinners.
| Innings | South Africa Champions | West Indies Champions |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 242/5 | 145/10 |
| Overs | 20 | 18.2 |
| Run rate | 12.10 | 7.91 |
| Top score | Richard Levi 87 | Chris Gayle 60 |
Where The World Championship Of Legends Goes Next
South Africa Champions came into this edition as holders, having beaten Pakistan Champions by nine wickets in the 2025 final at Edgbaston on 2 August. De Villiers finished that match on 120 not out off 60 balls.
The third season is a seven-team round robin, with Bangladesh Champions added to the field alongside India, Pakistan, Australia, England and West Indies. The league stage runs from 3 to 14 October, the semi-finals are on 16 October and the final is on 18 October. Sharjah Cricket Stadium hosts 18 matches, including both semi-finals and the final, with Dubai the tournament’s second venue.
In the other early results, India Champions beat Australia Champions by 46 runs in the opening match, 196 for 7 against 150. England Champions beat India Champions by 21 runs, 192 for 4 against 171 for 8, in the evening match on the same day as South Africa’s win.
