Cricket

'Sick tha tabhi 162 mara, warna 200' - Fans react as AB de Villiers reveals intriguing story of his iconic 162* off 66 vs West Indies in WC 2015

AB de Villiers revealed that he was sick before going out to bat against WI in WC 2015 game. Here's the full story with fan reactions.

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AB de Villiers, South Africa

AB de Villiers, South Africa (Source: Twitter)

AB de Villiers recently recalled his explosive 162 off 66 balls performance against the West Indies in the 2015 ODI World Cup and said he was sick and had been napping prior to walking out to bat. The former South African captain led his team to a 408-run total against the West Indies in Sydney by hitting the fastest 150 in ODI history. De Villiers, however, admitted on JioCinema's 'Home of Heroes' that he felt sick early on the day of the game and couldn't sleep.

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"I’ll give you one more example of that. Sydney Cricket Ground 2015. We played a World Cup game against the West Indies. And I was very nervous, very fired up. It’s a must-win for us. But at 3:00 that morning I got really sick in my room, and I got injections and all sorts of stuff. I didn’t sleep. I arrived at the Sydney Cricket Ground and I told the coach, listen, I don’t think I can warm up, I’m just going to take a nap," said De Villiers.

‘Everything happened in such slow motion that day’ – AB de Villiers

While elaborating further, De Villiers noted how being half-asleep helped him bat more naturally and made the game enjoyable for him. "Ended up batting first and I was literally sleeping before going out to bat. But my point is there was something more important than focusing out and stressing about a cricket game. I honestly felt like I couldn’t play. So, that became the bigger matter that I could just walk out. I was lucky. I was happy enough that I could just play. Finally. Which took everything else sort of out of the equation”.

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“And I remember standing there facing my first ball and I was like, I don’t care if I get out there, I’m just going to see the ball and just like move slowly. Be in my mode, you know? And it was incredible how in such slow motion everything happened that day. Seeing the ball bigger, I was half asleep. Looking at the sun just standing there going like, oh, this game is actually so enjoyable, so easy, so slow and it’s so difficult to get into that zone. In that zone, it’s so enjoyable," De Villiers added.

Here’s how fans reacted:

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