5 Things: De Villiers' record day, West Indies' plight ahead

Here are five things we learned from Friday at the 2015 Cricket World Cup:

1. You better learn your ABDs

The world's current No. 1-ranked ODI batsman, South Africa captain AB de Villiers, is making a case to be at the forefront of the conversation for best batsman in the post-Sachin Tendulkar era after his record outing Friday against West Indies. In the ODI format, it's a two-horse race at the moment between de Villiers and India's Virat Kohli.

Kohli has more centuries (22 versus 20) and has a higher frequency of 50-plus scores per innings (2.62 versus 2.78). De Villiers has a higher average (52.93 versus 51.91) and is far more aggressive in the six-hitting department (148 versus 60). They also mirror the stylistic differences between Tendulkar and his contemporary Brian Lara of West Indies -- Tendulkar punished opponents with determination and consistency, Lara through flamboyance and sheer power.

But one thing that stands out for both de Villiers and Kohli is their efficiency -- they constantly keep pressure on bowlers by refusing to let dot balls stack up. Kohli's scoring shot percentage may be a bit lower, but that is a function of his position in the batting order, where more dot balls naturally occur earlier in the innings. Still, on the whole, when he isn't hitting boundaries, he at least rotates the strike with singles.

When de Villiers arrives in the latter stages of an innings, he doesn't let bowlers breathe. Just as remarkable as his 17 fours and eight sixes in his unbeaten 162 against West Indies on Friday, de Villiers failed to score off just seven deliveries, amounting to a scoring shot percentage of 89.3 percent, extraordinary for an innings of that duration. Imagine a boxer throwing 66 punches in a round and landing 59 of them and that's how menacingly efficient de Villiers is at the crease. His final overs on fast bowler Jason Holder left the West Indies floored on the canvas.

2. Ignominious defeats

The 10 most lopsided losses by runs in Cricket World Cup history were endured by the Netherlands (four times), Bermuda (twice), Canada, Namibia, New Zealand ... and West Indies, who now top that list alongside Bermuda after the 257-run margin against South Africa on Friday. The Bermuda team that lost against India by the same margin in 2007 featured Dwayne Leverock, the 300-pound police officer who played cricket on the weekends.

3. The clock is ticking on West Indies

West Indies have six days off to stew over Friday's loss before they take on the only team to beat South Africa so far in the tournament, India. A loss versus India would mean West Indies would need a victory in their final group-stage match against UAE to even have a chance at making the quarterfinals. Another loss and they are out of the Cup.

Despite being the lowest-ranked team to qualify for the Cricket World Cup, UAE have shown in their first two games that a win for West Indies is no sure thing. UAE pushed Zimbabwe in their opening match and arguably had the upper hand for most of their loss against Ireland. UAE will only get better with more match experience and the pressure will be on West Indies to pull out a win.

4. Pool B drama

With the exception of India and South Africa, Pool B is by far the weaker of the two pools in group play, on paper. But that doesn't mean the marathon to the quarterfinals is lacking drama. Depending on the winner of Sunday's Pakistan-Zimbabwe game, a scenario exists where West Indies, Ireland and either Zimbabwe or Pakistan would be gunning for the last two spots in the quarterfinals. It's possible a three-way tie at 3-3 could happen, meaning the net run rate tiebreaker would come into play.

Pakistan is behind the eight ball at the moment with two heavy defeats against India and West Indies. However, three strong wins against the three lowest-ranked teams in the group - Ireland, Zimbabwe, and UAE - could erase the deficit. West Indies' NRR gains in their win over Pakistan were neutralized after their margin of defeat versus South Africa. Ireland has two wins from two games so far, but still have to go up against the two strongest batting teams in the group (South Africa and India), and big losses could see their net run rate take a hit. Zimbabwe is 1-2, but has shown tremendous fight in two very steep chases to prevent their NRR deficit from spiraling out of control.

5. Still room for spinners Down Under

Coming into this Cricket World Cup, there was every indication that spin bowlers would struggle and pace bowlers would thrive in the conditions, because of the pitch conditions as well as the small size of New Zealand grounds in particular. Pace bowlers have definitely thrived, none more than New Zealand's Tim Southee, with 11 in three games and a seven-wicket haul versus England.

Yet, there's been plenty of room for spin bowlers to succeed, as well. On a South Africa team that has a loaded pace-bowling attack, it is Imran Tahir who is their leading wicket-taker with nine in three games. A rejuvenated Daniel Vettori has provided excellent balance to back up Southee and Trent Boult. Among the Associate teams, Ireland's George Dockrell, UAE's Mohammad Tauqir and Scotland's Majid Haq have been vital in keeping the opposition in check. The 90-mph speedsters might get most of the glory, but the 50-mph tweakers have also provided more than their share of entertainment value.