De Villiers passes milestone in big SA win

Wellington, February 25

South Africa captain AB de Villiers became the fastest man to score 9,000 ODI runs as he led his side to a 159-run victory over New Zealand in the third ODI on Saturday. 

De Villiers scored 85, having needed just five runs to surpass Sourav Ganguly, who took 228 innings to achieve the milestone. De Villiers did it in his 205th innings. South Africa scored a credible 271/8 in their 50 overs and then their pace bowlers ripped the top off the hosts batting to reduce them to 58/6 in the 20th over before bowling them out for 112 in 32.2 overs. The victory gave de Villiers’ team a 2-1 lead in the five-match series with the fourth game in Hamilton on Wednesday. 

Brief scores: South Africa: 271/8 in 50 overs (de Villiers 85, de Kock 68; de Grandhomme 2/40); New Zealand: 112 all out in 32.2 overs (de Grandhomme 34; Pretorius 3/5). — Reuters