AB de Villiers finished on 111 not out off 40 balls as South Africa Champions beat Australia Champions by eight wickets in the World Championship of Legends on Friday. The defending champions chased down 210 in 15.4 overs with 26 balls to spare. De Villiers struck 11 sixes and six fours and brought up his hundred off 37 balls.
Kane Richardson removed Faf du Plessis for 5 off three deliveries, and that was the last time the chase looked like a contest. Richard Levi had already opened the damage with 62 off 29, three fours and five sixes, before Richardson had him caught by Joe Burns. De Villiers and JP Duminy then took the game away without a further alarm, Duminy unbeaten on 27 off 22.
How Did AB de Villiers Score 111 Off 40 Balls?
Sixty-six of his runs came in sixes. Another 24 came in fours. That leaves 21 runs off the 23 balls he did not put over the rope or into the boundary boards, which is the whole story of the innings in one line: almost everything that was hit, was hit out of the ground.
His strike rate was 277.50. The hundred took 37 balls and he was still there three balls later on 111, with South Africa needing nothing more from anybody.
Richardson was the only Australia Champions bowler to take a wicket.
Australia Champions Post 209 For 5
Australia Champions batted first, and for 20 overs it looked like enough. D’Arcy Short made 66 off 25 with seven fours and five sixes, David Warner 48 off 37, and Joe Burns 38 not out off 25. Jonathan Wells was unbeaten on 23 off 12 at the close. Extras added 12, seven of them wides.
Hardus Viljoen did the holding work with three wickets: Short caught by Morne van Wyk, Ben Dunk caught by Duminy and Callum Ferguson bowled first ball. Imran Tahir had Warner caught by Aaron Phangiso, and Marchant de Lange had Usman Khawaja caught by Sarel Erwee for 9.
| Innings | Australia Champions | South Africa Champions |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 209/5 | 210/2 |
| Overs | 20 | 15.4 |
| Top scorer | D’Arcy Short 66 off 25 | AB de Villiers 111 not out off 40 |
| Sixes from the top scorer | 5 | 11 |
A total of 209 in a 20-over game is a winning score most nights. South Africa Champions passed it with more than four overs unused.
AB de Villiers In The World Championship Of Legends
It is the same opposition he took apart in the 2025 edition at Headingley, when he made 123 off 46 and reached his hundred off 39 balls. This one was quicker to three figures, it finished unbeaten, and it came at a higher strike rate: 277.50 against 267.39.
He is 42 years old.
This is also his second score of the tournament, after 70 off 39 against West Indies Champions in the opening fixture, where Dwayne Bravo had him caught by Chadwick Walton. Across the two innings he has 181 runs.
The World Championship of Legends is the Twenty20 competition for retired international players, now in its third season and being played in the United Arab Emirates for the first time. It is a legends competition, not a Proteas international, and the records set in it sit on their own shelf.
Where South Africa Champions Stand
South Africa Champions are the defending champions, having beaten Pakistan Champions in the 2025 final, and they are two from two:
- 4 October: beat West Indies Champions by 97 runs. South Africa 242/5, West Indies 145 all out. Levi 87 off 39, de Villiers 70 off 39.
- 9 October: beat Australia Champions by eight wickets. Australia 209/5, South Africa 210/2 in 15.4 overs.
Both wins have come at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
That puts them on four points, level with England Champions, who have four from three games. Net run rate separates them, and it is not close. South Africa’s sat at +4.850 after the West Indies win; chasing 210 inside 16 overs keeps it just over +3.8, against England’s +0.374. South Africa Champions go top of the table.
Australia Champions have one win from three.
The top four sides in the league stage go through to the semi-finals.
