by Abhishek Mukherjee
This is the story of the greatest hundred by AB de Villiers..
The scoreline, for once, does not tell the story:
South Africa 543/6 decl. and 235/3 drew with West Indies 546. De Villiers scored 135 not out in a Test where Smith, Petersen, Kallis, Chanderpaul, and Nash also got hundreds.
So what was special? Let us relive those moments at Warner Park, Basseterre, 2010.
South Africa were 400-something. Smith was eyeing a declaration. De Villiers was on 60. You can understand what was about to follow.
Benn and Roach were treated with disdain. He lost Kallis, then Prince, but that did not deter him. Nothing ever did.
But as he kept on hitting, he started getting a bit fidgety. He was scoring quickly, but the urgency in his batting was more than you usually saw. He grimaced as he went on.
He reached 91 in 128 balls. He swept Benn for four to reach 95. Then, almost on the cue, he came down the track and lofted Benn into the stands. The hundred had taken 130 balls; the second fifty, a mere 46. There were two balls left in Benn’s over. De Villiers flicked the first softly and dead-batted the next.
Then followed The Great Escape – de Villiers bolted, he kept running, across the fence, till he disappeared into the green door of the pavilion...
Had Smith declared? Not quite. Boucher was still out at the pitch. The West Indians were there too.
Legend goes that Paul Harris tried to find out what had gone wrong with AB. Had he retired out? Did he need a change of gear? Was there an amulet he needed to touch for luck?
None of these, apparently.
As a relieved (pun intended) de Villiers jogged back to take a fresh guard at the centre, a teammate threw a toilet roll at him as they all roared in laughter.
AB could not help but laugh back.
The next challenge was to explain his absence to Rauf and Taufel. More laughter followed as the West Indians joined in with the umpires.
Only Gayle sat on the grass, his face devoid of expressions.
It later transpired that de Villiers had taken a tablet during the drinks interval. As the television channel re-played the video, Jackman suggested on air that it could have been a laxative.
No greater enemy is possible to conquer on a cricket field