AB de Villiers applauds Brevis’s record ton, calls CSK signing a masterstroke

South African prodigy Dewald Brevis produced a knock for the ages on Tuesday, August 12, lighting up the Marrara Cricket Ground in Darwin with a breathtaking 41-ball hundred in the second T20I against Australia. At just 22, Brevis became the youngest South African to score a T20I century and the fastest ever against Australia in the format.

Walking in at No.4, Brevis wasted no time announcing his intent. He dispatched Glenn Maxwell for his first six in the seventh over, and later tore into the Aussie all-rounder in the 12th, plundering 23 runs off five balls. Against an attack featuring Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa, Brevis’s range of strokes left the home side helpless as he raced to three figures with eight sixes and nine boundaries. He finished unbeaten on 125 off 56 balls, powering South Africa to 218/7.

His whirlwind effort also made him just the eighth South African man to hit a T20I hundred, joining an elite list that includes David Miller, Quinton de Kock, and Faf du Plessis. Only Miller’s 35-ball blitz against Bangladesh in 2017 has been faster for the Proteas.

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CSK’s Auction Gamble Looks Like a Golden Masterstroke After Brevis’s Record-Breaking Hundred

The innings drew instant praise from AB de Villiers, who couldn’t hide both his admiration and his envy over Brevis’s IPL allegiance. “There was such a golden opportunity for IPL teams to pick up Dewald Brevis at the auction! Missed out badly. CSK either got very lucky or maybe pulled off the biggest masterstroke ever. The boy can play,” de Villiers posted on X.

A Royal Challengers Bangalore legend, de Villiers admitted he would have loved to see Brevis in RCB colours, but believes the youngster could be South Africa’s next “360-degree” batting sensation. Brevis, for his part, called it an honour to be compared to his idol but stressed his determination to create his own identity.

Brevis had already impressed in IPL 2025 with Chennai Super Kings, including a match-winning half-century against Gujarat Titans. Now, with a record-breaking T20I hundred against one of the toughest bowling attacks in the game, he has made it clear that his rise is only beginning. If CSK’s decision to sign him was seen as a gamble at the auction, it’s looking more and more like the kind of move that could define a season – and maybe an era.