Flawless de Villiers seals seven-wicket win

AB de Villiers showed his pedigree with his second World Cup hundred, his 10th in all one-day internationals, and the fastest by a South African in a World Cup as South Africa chased down 223 at a canter at the Feroz Shah Kotla, the result sealed in the 43rd over for the loss of only three wickets.

De Villiers, who was named ODI Player of the Year for 2010, barely put a foot wrong in his knock, ticking along at better than a-run-a-ball from the start and sounding an ominous warning for South Africa's opponents in this tournament. He shared in a decisive 119-run stand for the third wicket with Graeme Smith and shut down the game by adding a further 84 in JP Duminy's company.

South Africa were in dire need of a counterpunch when de Villiers entered at the end of the fifth over with the score at 20 for 2. Defying West Indies' attempts to keep the pressure on, de Villiers appeared totally in control from the start of his innings. Threading the gap between cover and point on multiple occasions, he sprinted into the 20s at better than a-run-a-ball and South Africa were soon trundling along at well above the asking rate.

He brought up a 54-ball fifty with a massive blow over wide long-on in the 22nd over and, after the departure of Graeme Smith for a steady 45, there was barely a hint of nerves from him or his new partner, JP Duminy. After a short break for rain they eased South Africa home with minimum fuss, de Villiers reaching his ton from just 97 balls.