South Africa cricket team captain A.B. de Villiers has said that the satisfaction of leading from the front has been the driving force behind his match-winning performances for the squad this year.
De Villiers is currently ranked number one in the ICC ODI batsman rankings, and averages 76.85 in 10 matches in 2014, and his list of match-winning performances this year continues to grow.
De Villiers contributions of 108 off 71 balls to win the series against Sri Lanka in Hambantota, 57 not-out against Australia in the final of the triangular series in Zimbabwe and 79 not-out against New Zealand on Tuesday, highlights the skipper's insatiable desire to lead from the front when it counts, Sport24 report added.
De Villiers said that what gets him going is finishing games for the team, and added that being there at the end, there is nothing more rewarding than that. He said that when one talks about stats and milestones at the end of a career; that is something that he would look back on.
South Africa put in a clinical performance in their first match following a month-long break, and continued to tick the right boxes ahead of a crucial season.
De Villiers said that he is very happy with this performance, adding that it's a great start to what is a tough tour with three ODIs there and five in Australia. He said that to start off well always helps a little bit.
The skipper said that he has mixed feelings about the first half of the game, admitting that he thought they got themselves into a strong position to finish New Zealand off.
Other than that, De Villiers said that it was a great bowling performance, adding that getting a team nine down after 35 overs, with ones two best bowlers with the ball in hand; New Zealand would be disappointed that they didn't finish the job.
The second ODI would be held on 24 October 2014 at the Bay Oval in Tauranga, the report added.
